Monday, December 12, 2011

Auction and such

I honestly haven't had much time to make anything with the exception of our school auction.  These aren't my best pictures since I had to take them with my phone.

I made this one with hand formed sterling rings, sterling silver chain, and sliced crazy lace agate.


This was a fun necklace with imitation turquoise, red glass beads and black net.

Rose petal earrings.  I absolutely love these earrings.  I only have a few of the petals left so I must make one for myself and one to sell.

I've been working on having Amazon accept me as a jewelry seller.  I'd like to sell my hand painted octopus necklaces.  I haven't heard back yet but I have my fingers crossed :)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Jewelry 2011

I started making jewelry again since I started putting in time to bead. It shouldn't be hard but I had not been able to sit down and bead for months. I started crocheting bracelets and made a couple of earrings for me to enjoy :)




My first bracelet in forever. I love the new clasps that are coming out so I am sure I will be doing more of this type of bracelet.





I love these Mother of Pearl Flowers and bought a ton of them this summer. I made myself a pair almost like this set.





The second bracelet which has a different clasp.





I have three more made and I am waiting to post them on etsy/artfire before showing them here :)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Change..

This has been a strange month to say the least.  My favorite saying is "Be the change you want to see in the world".  The first time I heard it I thought this is my motto.  I practice through my everyday actions and through my children.  I have twins and starting with being  boy/girl twins they are polar opposites.  One has dark hair and dark eyes the other has blond hair and blue eyes.  One is quiet and the other has severe ADHD.  One is kind the other not so much.

My son is the one with ADHD and he is just the sweetest thing in the world.  He has a huge heart and helps everyone that he can.  He has been this way as long I can remember.  His sister on the other hand can be very selfish and demanding.  Teaching her to be kind has been a long hard road with pitfalls mostly at her brothers expense. Before having her, I thought kids were born being kind and helpful.  Much to my surprise that isn't always the case.  I teach her and I know one day it will be worth all the effort because she will be better off in the long run.

My son is another story.  I have to teach him to protect himself from being hurt or taken advantage of.  I am hoping that where they go with their life that they will in turn "Be the change that THEY want to see in the world."

Saturday, March 12, 2011

This has been the week of disasters

Not jewelry disasters but natural disasters.  Japan is playing on my mind as they try and control the nuclear plant on top of the horrid tsunami. I've looked at some pictures but I can't wrap my head around what they are going through.  Also, my sister in law was just diagnosed with breast cancer.  She started her battle on Friday with chemo. 

It all makes me take pause and give thanks that right now things are pretty good.  I've been through some rough patches myself.  It;s nothing compared to what is going on all around me.  I feel like the eye in the storm and I'll enjoy it even if it doesn't last

To honor and support my sister in law I will be making one piece of jewely a week in pink.  It is to raise awareness for breast cancer and also I will be donating all of the sale to Susan G. Koman Fund or directly to my sister in law to help with expenses.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

New Stuff - Handpainting Octopus Pendants once again

I had an order placed last week for one of my hand painted octopus pendants. Since I was already painting one I decided to go ahead and paint a couple more.

I had forgotten how fun it is to paint the pendants. So much thought goes in to make each one unique. Much to my daughter's delight I even name them.

Here are a couple I have finished and listed on Etsy..

I call this one Zardoz. He is handpainted sea green and has kelp green highlights. I used a crystal for his eyes. Not swarovski since I need to order some soon.

My next one is a hand painted scissor pendant. I painted one many moons ago and it sold really fast. I've gotten several requests since then to make more.


Then I've added Miranda and Tandar.

I have to add that Miranda is my favorite so far.




I have a couple more that I have yet to post. As you can tell I've been busy :)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Love is in the air!

My husband asked me this weekend what I would like for Valentines Day.  I told him I'd love some chocolate strawberries but I didn't need anything else.  While I was reading facebook this morning one of my friends said that she usually does the same thing.  Her reason being that everyday is like Valentines Day with her husband.  I thought about that this morning and realized that I feel like that too.


I feel so lucky to have found the love of my life when I had given up all hope.  He in turn gave me two awesome kiddos that bring more joy that I ever could have imagined.  We had a Valentines Day party yesterday courtesy of my daughter.  As we sat around and played the games she came up with I thought that I just couldn't be any happier. 

I did make some jewelry but never got a chance to get it listed.  So here are some of my Mithril Dreams Jewelry shop on Etsy.  Shop from here and save 20% by using the code valentine.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Something old something new... Nursing Necklaces

I just posted up this new nursing necklace I call Flowers In Bloom.  I loved the center bead and built the entire necklace around it.  When working with red and green, I have to be careful not to get to Christmas themed.  I think the black beads accented the colors perfectly.




Now for the something old.  It isn't really old but it is an older design that I never really promoted much.  It is made with mood beads which I think are seriously nifty.  The beads change color with body temperature and when your baby plays with it the colors will shift.   The beads that run up and down the sides are rainbow moonstone.  I may make a verison with just the mood beads since the moonstone drives the price up a bit.



More to come later as I post more jewelry.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Baby it's cold outside...

We got up this morning to really cold temps.   I, of course, came down with a cold on Monday night.  Lucky for me the cold weather encourages me to sleep and get better.  I drove my kidlets to school this morning explaining to them about weather.  We talked about what a wind chill factor means and why pipes breaks when the water freezes in them.

After I dropped them off, I listened to the radio a bit about the effects of the cold temps.   There have been rolling brownouts all over the city.  I called home and asked DH to turn off everything that we had left on in our mad rush for the door.  I came home and promptly went back to bed.  Lucky for us we are on a hospital grid so we didn't experience any outages.

DH went and picked up the kids this afternoon and I am making Chicken and Dumplings for dinner with garlic Texas toast.  The weather is going to get worse over the next few days but we are ready.

I'm also done telling the kids that it doesn't snow in Texas.  Since I have told them that it has snowed EVERY single year.  Whats up with that???

I'm sure I'll make some jewelry tonight but right now I am just happy snuggling under my blanket.  The kids are wrapped up in their snuggies and playing games by the fire.  Bliss....

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Trying to find my niche..

I have been beading for over six years.  I thought that I would gravitate towards a specialty over time.  In December I decided to make a choice in what direction I wanted to specialize in.  It makes things easier when I market if my jewelry is targeted to a certain group.

So, I choose making jewelry for mom's, daughters, and grandmothers as my primary audience.  The type of jewelry I will make the most is nursing necklaces as those have been some of my favorite types of necklaces to make.  Plus it helps both breastfeeding and bottle feeding moms which is win win.  

Happy Customer with a Teether Nursing Necklace

 The nursing necklace is designed to distract a nursing baby from pulling hair, scratching, or just looking wildly around the room.  It is a focal point for the baby but is still really pretty for mom to wear everyday.  I also sell a wood ring nursing necklace that has been extremely popular!  When my twins were babies anything that made me look better made me feel better too.

I also am working on wirewrapping for a more difficult challenge since I don't see how how could ever become bored with it.   I still plan on making other things I just needed focus.

Nursing Necklace listed this week

Click on Necklace to see listing
 
Sterling Silver and Amethyst Hoop Earrings

Click Picture for Listing Info





 I am currently working on a valentines day bracelet.  It is wirewrapped so I've worked on it over a couple of day now.  I have a few more necklaces to list yet and hopefully by then the bracelet will be done :)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Golden Globes Fashion

I've been checking around the web for the pictures from last nights awards.  I love the necklaces that were mesh and delicate.

I've always been a fan of small jewelry because any of the big beads just looks wrong on me.  I'm 4'11" so I have to be careful what I wear.

The earrings they had were really nice.  I especially liked the larger stones and the geodes that Kelly Osborne wore.  Really nice and different from the ever present chandelier style



It did seem kind of a low key night jewelry wise but there was enough to make me happy.  Also, the cover for Jennifer Lopez's dress was to die for.  I loved it! 


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

My daughter Squidly...

My daughter has been bugging me for a week to make this hat from Instructables.com.  I've put it off and put it off because sewing isn't exactly my favorite thing.  This morning she made me double pinky promise to have it done tonight.  Apparently breaking a double pinky promise is much more serious then breaking a regular pinky promise.

This will just add to her huge squid obsession that has been plaguing me lately.  She informed me before Christmas that she was changing her name to squidly.  She asked Santa for a squid and thankfully he came though.  Now, I can call her by her given name and Squidly is her new squid friend (Plush Giant Squid 20").  She told me today he smells like Santa's workshop and is allergic to water.  Oh and he inked Christmas lights in December now he is inking hearts because it is close to valentines day.  If only I were making this up :)

How did my little sweet eight year old because such an admirer of squid??  I honestly have no idea.  She's never been terribly interested in all things girl but sheesh...squid?  Really? I now know way more about squid then I ever wanted to.  We search google images to learn about different kinds a couple times a week.  Anyways this is me procrastinating so off I go.  I'll post pictures but for now here is a little preview.


Friday, January 7, 2011

Audio Books and Marketing

I just recently started listening to audiobooks because they get me through the boring chores, and driving back and forth to school.  The last one I've been listening too is In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms CD.  It has been enlightening to say the least.  Some of it I believe and other parts just aren't for me.

The other audio book is called Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (New Rules Social Media Series)) about marketing your brand on the web.  I have never been very good with the marketing side of things.  I have worked on my photography, verbiage, and even my technical skills so this is the last thing that I really need to work on (besides a website). However, the bane of the small business is that I have to learn to do everything.  It takes away from my creative time but if I can't sell what I make then my business won't grow.  I can only make so many necklaces, bracelets, and earrings for myself and family. 

The one thing the book got me thinking about is how I don't really specialize in anything.  I suspect to get repeat customers I need to pick one unique thing about my business and promote it.  This is hard for me since I am sure I have crafting ADD.  I have been making jewelry going on nine years and I still move from one project to the next without a central focus. 

I have pretty much decided to aim most of my businesses at moms, babies, and children.  It encompasses a huge variety of jewelry.  Plus I can always work on the other stuff when I get time.  It works for me because I still get to work with a variety of materials but the focus will be on family.

That should be easy since my focus right now is my family.  So, next I will be making a plan on how to do that.  It isn't as fun as making jewelry but the rewards will be great.  I wish it came natural but I'm thankful there are easy references.  I wonder how everyone else markets their business online?

Monday, January 3, 2011

Earrings

I finally got around to making those earrings I posted the other night.  I wanted to learn the technique and what I learned is that I need more practice.  Still it isn't too bad for a first attempt :)







I'll most likely make another one sometime today.  I had a rough night sleepwise and I am feeling the pull of a nap!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Hello 2011

The kids came home today from my mom's. They had a wonderful time but were totally exhausted. So our plan to visit the aquarium got canceled until later. I think we are meeting up with Tabby on Monday to go to the Putt Putt Fun House. The kids will enjoy visiting with Korben.

Kind of sad we didn't get to visit much this holiday. Oh well, at least the strep is gone and we are all healthy.I was going to bead tonight but I got all caught up in programming my remote. We managed to save up and buy a TV and Blue Ray player. Totally cool how they all hook together these days.

I think I am going ton try and make some earrings like these: