New Aspirations in 2015

Today's Silver Price: $18.33/t.oz.

I've recently relocated to sunny Florida. I've said goodbye to the cold grey skies of Long Island, NY. I am currently settling in to Palm Harbor, which is in the Tampa Bay area. While I am enjoying the blue sky and the warm sun, it's also time to focus on developing my business and creating higher quality jewelry.

I've just signed up for a jewelry metalworking class with Dunedin Fine Art Center (www.dfac.org) and I'm so excited! It starts February 24th and there will be a 3 hour class every Tuesday night for 6 weeks. So now, instead of buying components and putting them together, I will be able to fabricate my own components! The class teaches soldering, stone setting, piercing, forging and hammering. One of the biggest things I am looking forward to learning are the finishing techniques like filing and polishing. Also I need to find out how to keep copper from tarnishing. I've made some copper cuff bracelets in the past but they get dull very quickly.

I'm aiming to create more artisan quality jewelry this year. I want to move away from the silver-plated pieces I have been making, and get back to sterling silver jewelry. 

New skills and a greater focus on social media marketing (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) will hopefully lead to a prosperous year! 

Below are some of my recent designs:

Ciao for now, and Happy New Year! 

Goodbye 2013!

Today's Silver Price: $19.49/t.oz.

2013 has been interesting, but I'm looking forward to 2014. I hope to start selling paintings and entering some gallery shows in the next year. I have some new jewelry design ideas as well that will be coming to my Etsy shop very soon!

Sales in my Etsy shop have steadily increased in the last three years. I hope 2014 blows all of past years totals out of the water! Seeing as I only started using Twitter and Instagram over the summer, I think I can drastically increase my sales for 2014.

I believe 2014 will be an amazing year for me creatively. A new chapter begins tomorrow!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year's Eve celebration, and I hope everyone has a joyful, successful and amazing 2014! 

Latest Photos

Today's Silver Price: $19.69/t.oz.

Some of my photo collages and an Instagram pic of what I'm currently working on. Can you tell I'm having fun with the InstapicFrames app?? LOL

The last pic is a set of three wood bead bracelets i just made. I haven't posted these on Etsy yet. I always sell a bunch of these at craft fairs, so lets see how they do online! 

Holiday Shopping

Today's Silver Price: $19.55/t.oz.

My Cyber Monday sale seemed to generate a ton of traffic in my Etsy shop. I didn't actually get any sales that day though. What's interesting is that I had an order placed right before the sale started, two orders placed the day after, and another order today. So in summary, my 20% OFF sale increased shop views, but did not get me any orders on Cyber Monday!

I've been trying to stay on top of my social media marketing lately. I read recently that Facebook is one of the best ways to promote an Etsy site, and that you should include a photo in every post. 

In an effort to create interesting posts with interesting photos, I've been playing with some photo collage apps on my iPhone. The picture below was my first attempt. I used an app called *Collage*. I wanted to show the creative process of making wire hearts for a necklace, and wanted to include all the steps in one photo. I posted this pic on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Then I found a better app called 'Instapicframe'. It has more options. This was the updated pic:

I used 'Instapicframe' again this morning. I wanted to show several images of my yoga jewelry in one picture:

So far I am enjoying making these collages! Hopefully they will help to increase traffic in my Etsy shop! 

Cyber Monday Sale!

Today's Silver Price: $19.93/t.oz.

I'm currently running a Cyber Monday sale in my Etsy shop. 20% off all items with coupon code CYBER2013. Sale ends at midnight tonight. The coupon code must be entered at checkout. 

This is the first time I've had a sale in my shop! Lets see how it goes! 

Social Media Blitz

Today's Silver Price: $23.78/t.oz

I've recently started using Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to promote my Etsy shop. It's probably been a few months now, and I've seen an incredible jump in views of my shop. And the results are immediately seen. When I post on Twitter or Instagram, I see an increase in views that same day. On days when I haven't posted anything new, my Etsy views are often zero. Even small blurbs on Twitter can lead to shop views. I believe the social media posts have led to purchases, however I cannot be sure as there is no way that I know of to track how a specific buyer came to my shop.

I've read that in order to use Twitter and other social media sites to successfully promote a webpage or business, you must post often. Regular posts keep people interested in your feed. This type of discipline is something I've struggled with in the past and will have to overcome. Even when I'm lazy and don't feel like posting, I need to post even a tiny snipet, inspirational quote or a photo to try and hold the attention of potential customers. This obviously applies to blogging as well, so I will do my best to post here regularly.

Today I updated my LinkedIn profile. I figured that promoting my Etsy shop through this outlet can't hurt. When I created the account, I didn't think I would use it much as it seems to be a site for business connections. However I've come to realize that if I want to pursue self-employment, I'd better start promoting myself as a creative entrepreneur. I've chosen to list myself as an artist. I have always shyed away from identifying myself with this term, but now I feel that I can embrace it and live it. I am a designer, I am a painter, and overall I am an artist.

I've become fed-up with my 9-5 office job, so I am now intent on developing my business and working towards self-employment. My very wise aunt says, if you throw enough mud at a wall, eventually some of it will stick. So I'm determined to throw as much social media mud on the internet wall as I can!

Below are some of the recent items I've listed in my shop, and at the bottom is a photo of my creative process!

Silver Plated Bracelet

Sterling Silver Ring

 

Double Strand Silver Plated Necklace

Vacation is over...

Today's Silver Price: $19.42/t.oz.


Time to get back to work after an awesome vacation in the Florida Keys last week! It was heavenly... we stayed on Long Key, did some snorkeling, standup paddleboarding, kayaking, and of course relaxing!

Anyway... I'm looking for some new bracelet designs. I was Googling this morning to find some inspiration, but I didn't come across anything. I have some ideas brewing in my head so I may just work on developing them. I want to create some big bold bracelets. The bracelets I currently have in my Etsy shop are mostly simple, thin, one strand bead bracelets. I may experiment today with wire links and see what I can come up with. They need to be BOLD!

I also have yet to use the knot component that I learned to make a long time ago. It's super cool, I just haven't figured out how I want to use them. I think they are too bulky for bracelet components so they'll probably end up in a long necklace.

I won't work too hard today... I made a promise to myself that I would get outside as much as possible this summer! Maybe I'll play some tennis with The Hubbie. Ciao!

Etsy Postings for 6.2.13

Today's Silver Price: $22.26/t.oz. (WOW!)

I've had a tough time getting back into blogging. I'll do an easy one tonight... below are the latest additions to my Etsy shop. A lot of the silver-plated components used in these designs I purchased from Etsy sellers, so that's pretty neat. Also, I'm liking the solid black background in the newer pictures. I think the older pictures are using backgrounds that are too busy and they take away from the jewelry. I think I'm going to continue using solid black backgrounds, or white backgrounds with a very subtle design on them. I'd like to re-shoot the older listings eventually to create a uniform look in the shop, but who knows when I'll get to that!

Just posted these on Etsy tonight:

Silver Leaves Necklace

Silver Leaves Earrings

Diamond Shaped Earrings 

Hematite & Silver Earrings

Back to Work!

Today's Silver Price: $28.97/t.oz.


I got married in June of 2012. This is my first post since. No more excuses. No more distractions. Time to get back to business! I've had a few sales on my Etsy shop in the last couple of months so it has gotten me excited again about creating new jewelry.

Yesterday I posted several new items in my Etsy shop. I've recently been making jewelry with supplies I've purchased from Etsy sellers. At first I was annoyed that people were selling supplies on Etsy. I mean, isn't Etsy supposed to be totally handmade or antiques? Then I realized they had created a specific category for people selling supplies. I guess it makes sense, buying supplies from and Etsy vendor, keeping the commuinty spirit. So I've purchased some charms and components that are very affordable and I'm so happy with them!

I'm making an adjustment to my previous blogging schedule. I'll be posting weekly, rather than bi-weekly. I haven't picked a day yet though, so it may be random for a while. I need to figure out what will work best for me, being that I'm not real fond of schedules and set times. LOL.



Here's what I've been up to recently:

Spiritual Charms 2-in-1 Necklace:

Cascading Hearts 2-in-1 Necklace:

Shell Bead Necklace:

Om Charm Bracelet

Silver and Black Beaded Necklace:

Silver-Plated Teardrop Bead Necklace:

Hot Stuff in 2012

Today's Silver Price: $28.96/t.oz.


I fell off the blogging wagon. Hard.

It's been several weeks since I've written a blog post. Working full-time, planning a wedding, and building a business all at the same time? Not really possible. The wedding is in a couple of weeks and I'm psyched out of my mind about it, but once it's over I plan to put some serious time into jewelry making!

I will return to blogging next month, after the chaos has quieted down and after the confetti settles. For now, I am prepping to put the Etsy Shop on 'vacation mode' and daydreaming about my caribbean honeymoon.

I will leave you with some recent creations which I don't believe I have yet shared here. I've purchased a wire jig and I've been making some pretty cool necklaces! I think I'm on to something here...


See for yourself:

Actually the last two necklaces were made free-hand, no jig. I'm excited about pursuing this type of jewelry further.

Keep your eyes out for some HOT STUFF in the second half of 2012!!

Wine Bottle Centerpieces

Today's Silver Price: $31.79/t.oz.



My wedding centerpiece planning has come full circle. Forget the pressed flowers, forget creating my own floral arrangements, it's back to wine bottles. Check out some pics I found on the internet today:

I'm definitely going to need a bottle cutter for these. I've done some brief browsing on the internet and found several for around $30. Well worth the investment I think.

From this last one I was thinking of using the greenery around the bottom of the wine bottles. Apparently you can just spray evergreens with adhesive and stick them to glass. Not sure how long they would last, but it looks really cool! I also thought about wrapping lace around the bottom half of the bottles. I guess there are a ton of things that could be added! I'll use the battery operated tea light candles to make it easy.

I'll be ordering a bottle cutter this weekend- and soon I'll finally put my stock of empty wine bottles (which are currently cluttering up the attic) to good use!

Etsy Direct Checkout

Today's Silver Price: $32.40/t.oz.

There's a new feature coming to Etsy. It's called Direct Checkout. Customers can use their credit card on Etsy without having to go through PayPal. The third party has been eliminated... 2's a party, 3's a crowd...

I am very interested in this new feature. I think that customers will be much more likely to buy from an Etsy page if it is a simpler process. Now they do not have to have a PayPal account or enter their credit card info into PayPal, they can simply enter everything right on Etsy.

It seems that this new feature is in a pilot state. It is not available to all Etsy users at this time but apparently it will be eventually. I have requested participation in the trial and hopefully in a couple of months it will become available.

I don't think it will make much of a financial difference in terms of fees taken out of each sale. In order to use Direct Checkout Etsy will charge the seller 3% of the transaction plus $.25 for every purchase (this is in addition to the 3.5% of the sale that Etsy takes and the $0.20 listing fee).

PayPal takes 2.9% of the sale plus $0.30. So it's just about the same percentage taken out, but Etsy would charge $0.05 less than PayPal.

Hmmm now that I'm seeing all these fees I'm starting to wonder if this is all worth it. It costs me $0.20 for every item that I list on Etsy. Then when I sell an item, Etsy takes 3.5% of the sale. Now for the actual transaction, either Etsy or PayPal will take 3% of the transaction AND $0.25 or $0.30. So I'm paying at least $0.45 plus 6% for every sale. Bummer.

I guess for now it's not too bad. I've only had a handful of sales so far. Perhaps in the future though it will be beneficial to start my own website. If I start now, I can learn to build a website by...

Mulit-Strand Necklace- First Attempt

Today's Silver Price: $31.33/t.oz.


My first attempt at a multi-strand necklace (please excuse the bad lighting in the photo):

So this is a copper necklace with three strands. The top and the bottom strand are simply copper chain. The middle strand is copper beads strung on beading wire.

I tried to be very careful of measurements while constructing this necklace. I laid out the beads and the chains, and I made each strand exactly 2 inches longer than the last. I thought I would end up with perfectly spaced strands- but as you can see from the picture I did not.

To fix this issue I'm thinking of adding two more strands. One would be a chain in between the shortest strand and the beaded strand, and the other would be a chain below the last strand. It would then become a five strand necklace. I think I may just eyeball it this time instead of wasting time measuring everything.

Updated version coming soon!

Wire Om Pendant

Today's Silver Price: $31.61/t.oz.

I love the Sanskrit OM symbol. I love the beauty of the shape and I love the concept that it represents. Om is the sound of the universe, the sound from which all other sounds arise. Chanting the word Om during yoga practice or meditation has mental and spiritual benefits, while the vibrations of the sound massage the inner organs of the body.

I've purchased some sterling silver Om charms in the past and made some beautiful earrings. However these charms can be quite expensive.

After receiving my last wire shipment I started playing with some of the silver-plated wire, bending it into shapes. I wondered if I could bend the wire into an Om symbol. Here's what I came up with:

It's a little sloppy, but I think with some practice I can perfect this! I also have to experiment with hammering the wire, because hammering will make the wire harder and stronger so it should hold the shape better. I think this would be a great pendant!

Miles and Miles of Wire!

Today's Silver Price: $32.81/t.oz.

Ok, not miles and miles, but feet and feet. 400 feet to be exact. Today I received a delivery from Paramount Wire, or http://www.parawire.com/. I ordered 200 feet of 18 gauge silver-plated copper wire, and 200 feet of 18 gauge copper wire. And yes, I've already gotten into the copper wire to make a new necklace!

I've figured out that one necklace uses about 11 to 12 feet of wire. Each heart link uses 4" of wire, and there are 32 hearts in the necklace. That's 128", or 10.66 feet. Add in jump rings and I guesstimate it's about 12 feet. So if I have 400 feet of wire from this new delivery, I have the potential to make 33 necklaces. If I sell them for $25 each that would be $825. I spent about $70 on the wire, so that's about $755 profit. Not bad! Of course I have not factored in the cost of labor but that's ok. I will probably sell the silver-plated necklaces for a higher price as that wire is more expensive.

Anybody want to check my math?

I definitely would recommend checking out the ParaWire website if you are interested in wire wrapping or wire jewelry. They sell wire in a very wide range of colors, gauges and lengths. Good find, I am grateful for that Etsy forum I stumbled across!



Non Tarnish Jewelry Wire

Today's Silver Price: $31.44/t.oz.

I've been wanting to purchase some copper wire so that I can make more of the heart link necklaces. So far they've gotten some great responses. I had a coworker ask if I could make one in a different color (besides the nickel silver) and I have a friend that wanted one but is allergic to nickel. I've gone to both Michaels and Joanne's to try and find 18 gauge copper wire but haven't had much luck. I am looking specifically for non-tarnish copper wire.

I came across a website just now that sells non-tarnish copper wire in a large variety of colors. They also sell silver-plated wire that I may try out as well! The website is http://www.parawire.com/. I actually stumbled across it in an Etsy forum while doing a Google search on Zebra Wire reviews (I found the Zebra Wire on Fire Mountain Gems but it doesn't say 'non tarnish') Seems to be decent pricing, they have a 200' spool of 18 gauge copper wire for $19.00. I think I'll be purchasing some wire this weekend!

It's been a long week, I deserve a treat, right? The silver-plated wire was $35 for a 200' spool, so I'd be spending about $60 total. With 200 feet of wire I can make about 18 necklaces, so that's 36 necklaces if I get both kinds of wire! Totally worth it!

DIY Wax Paper Lanterns

Today's Silver Price: $32.17/t.oz.

And now for something completely different... wax paper lanterns.

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

One of the really fun parts of planning a wedding for me has been finding bargains, deals, and DIY projects. I found a great website recently called A Practical Wedding which offers tips and ideas on planning an affordable wedding without all the unnecessary fluff and ridiculousness.

I really should stop looking at all of these websites and articles. So far I've changed my idea for centerpieces three times. Maybe four. I started off wanting to use wine bottles for centerpieces somehow. I was thinking of cutting the bottles and putting candles in them. Then I thought I should probably have a florist do the centerpieces. Then I thought I could do the floral and greenery centerpieces myself. Now however, I have stumbled upon the next great idea. Wax paper lanterns, or luminarias as they are called in this article (from A Practical Wedding).

The luminarias are made by ironing pressed flowers and greenery between two sheets of waxed paper. The crafter has created cubes using four waxed paper walls taped together. Simply put a candle inside and you've made magic! I think I would make taller structures to get a more dramatic look, but I love the possibilities with this project! I was out for a walk today and I was taking note of all of the bushes on my route that could possibly be used. I would also use battery operated tea lights as I think open flame might be risky.

So until the next great idea comes my way I'll be experimenting with pressed flowers and waxed paper. Sounds like fun to me!

New Additions

Today's Silver Price: $32.24/t.oz.


Some new items I've added to my Etsy page... finally used one of those abalone shell pendants!

Bridal Accessories

Today's Silver Price: $33.58/t.oz.


DISCLAIMER: The following picture is not my work!

Below is the Endless Summer Necklace by Albina Manning.

I was sent the instructions for this fun necklace last week. I get regular emails from wire-sculpture.com with new jewelry designs and patterns. This one piqued my interest on a personal level. I thought this would be a great necklace for my wedding day! Well, a variation of this. I'm not crazy about pearls so I would probably change the necklace portion, but I absolutely LOVE the mother of pearl flower and the wire accents! I do worry though that the wires sticking out may be uncomfortable.

My wedding dress is rather simple, and I'll be going with simple jewelry for the ceremony. However I plan on making a jewelry change into something more dramatic before the reception!

Hmmmm, I wonder if this will clash with the flower in my hair...

Quick Tip- Raise It Up!

Today's Silver Price: $32.70/t.oz.

NEW CONCEPT ALERT!

Today I read a very brief tip on wire-sculpture.com that suggests jewelry makers raise the height of their tables at fairs and craft shows. This way the customers do not have to bend over to look at the jewelry. By simply adding some PVC piping to the legs of your folding table you can raise your display up closer to eye level. Brilliant!

I suppose this does present a challenge when trying to find a table cloth for your new MacGyver-style table, but I guess an extra long piece of fabric from the craft store will do. I'll have to try this out! I think that actual eye-level would be too high though. Maybe a foot above regular table height would be good. Chest-level, maybe?

Any time you can bring your product closer to your customer you are increasing your chances for a sale!



~~~{Blog Playlist}~~~
Modest Mouse, "Float On"
Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out"
The Chieftains w/Sinead O'Connor, "Foggy Dew"