Thursday, December 9, 2010

Etsy Beadweavers - Time to Vote Again!


I absolutely love the Etsy Beadweavers! This team is always pushing me to be a better beader, and I love the monthly challenges we do! I wasn't able to enter this one for two reasons. For one, I'm just not that familiar with Simon and Garfunkel (this month's theme!) and for two, I'm just getting back into the swing of things! I absolutely love everyone's entries and I haven't decided who I'm voting for. I don't think I've seen all of them... I know just from looking at the mosaic 9, 19, and 28 stick out at me! After I post this I'm going to go double check out all the entries again and decide once and for all!

Speaking of which - we need your votes! Each month's winner gets to pick one of the following themes, which I think is a great prize! So go VOTE!!!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Learning Kumihimo - and Starting up Handmade Saturday

It's been a long week - and the above banner is a large part of it! I've one of the brains behind the new site, Handmade Saturday, and it's been a lot of week! We've had a lot of fun though :) I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Susan of MyFathersGifts for all the hard work she did on the website! In case anyone hasn't heard me say it yet - Susan is the web genius and I'm really proud of her for all the hard work she's done!

I can hardly believe I haven't really blogged about it, but with all the hard work I've been putting in, I've just been   swamped! I rather burned out  :P

For those of you who haven't heard about the website yet - it's all about YOU. The Artisans. We're open to artisan's from any venue (including your own websites!) We did a big sales push this weekend and we are going to continue to promote each week! So come sign up and join in on the fun! Handmade Saturday.


Ok - that probably looks bizarre! And it is. I'm learning to do beaded Kumihimo braiding. Kumihimo is Japanese (in case you hadn't guessed that LOL) and it's a LOT of fun! since I don't actually have the proper equipment, I made some! Thank you Chex cereal :) It's working out great and I love it! That's the start to a necklace that I'm going to wear at my brother's wedding :) I'll make sure and show you the final results!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

My Projects Right Now!



As promised - a picture of the headband I made myself!
It's just a simple knitted strip that I tied in the back.
And you even got a pic of me out of the deal :)


This is my bead weaving board at the moment! 
Working on a vampire bracelet that I designed :)
I might put it aside temporarily to knock out a couple of pendants though...


Monday, November 22, 2010

Getting Stuff Done!

I've been really sick with a bad cold, and it hasn't gone completely away, but it's finally better enough that I can function as long as I have some cold meds! Woohoo! So what does that mean? I've been working like crazy tonight! Check it out:


First of all - just go check out my etsy shop. 
I've spent all night renewing anything that has a good picture!
That's a LOT of items ladies and gentlemen :)
Tomorrow - I start taking new pictures of old items that need it!

As for Artfire...I finally added something again!



This beauty is only $15 with free shipping! 


Ok - I've worked on a bunch of stuff since I last posted...
But I'm to tired to take any more pictures. 
So look for this tomorrow :D 

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Ugh

I hate being sick! Sorry I've gone awol again - I have a really bad cold right now. Temperature fluctuating all over the place, nose running, and sleeping a lot! I slept for 16 hours straight last night and I'm still utterly exhausted. I have a lot I want to work on, lots I want to do in my shop, but it's just not going to to happen today! Oh well. Hopefully another day or two of rest and I'll be back in top form :)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Fun Stuff All!



This bracelet is a special one.
My brother sent me the beads from Nepal! 
I'm so tempted to keep this one for myself...
But I like how it turned out so much that it's up for sale!
If no one grabs it things might not stay that way though...



Ok, I know it's not exactly spring right now...
This would still make a GREAT Christmas present though!
AND it's 10% off! 

Nothing new crafty wise today - but I plan on doing a bunch this afternoon!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

LOTS of CHANGES

Oh goodness! What a day it's been! I can decide where to begin! Wow. I've had a lot of things I've been wanting to get done for a long time and I got so much of it done today! Maybe I should just list it...

Cleaning:
1. Kitchen
2. Bedroom
3. Some of the living room

Design:
1. THE BLOG - I'm going for red and green right now in honor of the upcoming holiday - can you tell? LOL
2. I also created and updated both banners and avatars (and on Artfire the color theme) in both my shops.
3. I made the little section headers I wanted to make! You'll see in a minute ;)

Cooking:
1. Breakfast: pancakes and sausage :D Don't worry I really was behaving! I used sugar-free syrup and they were turkey sausages :P
2. Dinner: (breakfast was at lunch time) BBQ Pork loins, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

Wow - it was a full day! Now on to the things in my shop and and the crafty stuff I got done yesterday!



These babies are on CLEARANCE!!!!


Wouldn't this be the perfect Christmas present?


This would be perfect to add a bit of travel flair to your
wardrobe - and perfect to wear at Christmas! 



This necklace is a commission for my friend Gypsy :D
If anyone's interested in something similar just let me know! 

I made something else yesterday too - but I didn't like how it turned out :P 
So it's being scrapped and no picture! 

Until tomorrow ~ Ruthie

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Saturday Night

Isn't that a creative title? I couldn't think of anything else :P Sorry I was gone for a couple of days - went all melty brained (migraine) again! But I'm backkkkk. And here is where I'm at:

What's For Sale



Aren't these cute? It may not be the right time of the year to be out in your garden (unless you're in the southern hemisphere!) but that doesn't mean it's not a great time to buy these earrings! Wouldn't they make a great Christmas present? Click on the link above to go check 'em out in my store! 



Aren't these great to wear to a party? Or even just to add a little jazz to your every day life? I sure think so! Click on the link! 

Daily Crafty ADD

Well - being knocked out with a bad migraine makes for no crafting :( BUT I did go shopping! 


Aren't they cute? It was hard to take a good picture - but that's red and green folks! I'm going to play with them soon, but I have a couple of other things I need to work on first. I'll show you what I mean tomorrow :D

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

I'm back! I think....maybe...wait for it....Well we'll see shan't we?

For any of you who missed my last post that proudly proclaimed I was back let me explain this for you. I announced September 5th that I was back and working on my shop again. I even managed to put up a follow up post, (What??), that was it. Flop.

That's alright though isn't it? We all have our flops from time to time, and I didn't truly give up! First I got a horrendous cold that made existing seem like a side benefit, so nothing got done. Then, and it's a long story, I ended up messing up my lower back pretty bad. That's healed now and other than the usual persistent migraines, I'm not doing too bad!

So I'm determined. It might be a slow come back. It might lack some of the flashy wit of my old posts (wait, was that even there?) but I'm going to work on getting into the routine again!

For now the majority of my posts are going to be formatted around two topics: What's for Sale, and Daily Crafty ADD. What's for Sale will be the opener of the posts and you'll get to see anything new I've posted that day all in one place! Since I'm going to be working on reopening my Etsy and My Artfire shops again, this will be great! I will not be duplicating any listings between the two stores, just to keep things simple for myself. Daily Crafty ADD will take the place of my weekly posts about my crafty ADD-ness, I'll just keep you right along with me as I walk my winding road! I hope you enjoy it :)

This post is no different from the others really - this just has a long intro :P So now, without further adieu, may I present my new blog post format!

WHAT'S FOR SALE


Purple and Yellow Crystal Earrings

Aren't these cute? 
Just click on the link below the picture for more information and/or to purchase!
Only $5!!!


DAILY CRAFTY ADD



When finished the frogs will be the classic: "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." My Mom bought the pattern for my after Granny died earlier this year. Granny LOVED frogs and had a HUGE collection of them.
Granny also loved to do things with her hands and we have a gorgeous cross-stitch she did at one point! 

Granny had a set of frogs in these classic poses as figurines. Well Dad has the figurines, and I'm making my own memory for her.Tonight I worked on the eye and face area on the green frog. Didn't get too much done, but I was chatting :P

*NOTE TO SELF* Make some sort of cute banner for each of the sections in the blog posts? Hmmm...Ideas... That might just be my crafty thing for tomorrow :P Did I mention its way past my bed time?

Friday, September 10, 2010

What?

I renewed a couple of items, but that's all I did for the jewelry biz today. Oh well. I'm hoping to get more done tomorrow! I was gone most of the morning, and I got lots of other things done, so I'm not too worried about it!

What did you do today?

Sunday, September 5, 2010

I'm Back!




Last time I blogged it was to say that I was taking a break for awhile from blogging and my jewelry business. The good news is . . . I'm back! I was gone for longer than I thought I was going to be, but sometimes life hits you that way. I'm not even sure at this point I could go back and trace the nitty gritty details of the last few months, but that's ok, because life is moving on, and that's what matters right? 

I'm back to working on things, but no promises about how consistent I'll be in the near future. I'm anticipating it's going to take some time to get back into my routine and really get things back to where I want them to be. But I'm still back :) 

I am really excited about connecting with everyone again! One of the best part about being a jewelry artist on the internet has been that I've met some wonderful people through Etsy, Artfire, and blogging. I can hardly wait to see what you all have been up to and be a part of your lives again! 

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Taking a Break

I haven't been around much because of my migraines, and I decided it's just time to officially take a break. I need time to move things around and organize them in my apartment, and just time to let my body heal. I don't want to feel guilty because I haven't blogged or worked on my shop. I just want to be for a little while. I miss you all and I'll try not to be gone for too much longer!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Harvest Days!

This weekend is Harvest Days out in Battle Ground where I participate in the market. That means longer hours, more days, and hopefully a lot more customers! Which probably means absent Ruthie yet again :P *rolls eyes* But hey, if I make lots of sales it'll be worth it right? Here's hoping! I need to go get stuff ready....

Friday, July 9, 2010

Their done!!! Woohoo!!!

I finished working on my new earring cards! 
It was a LOT of work - but they are pretty :)
Don't you agree?


I used vertical cards that I ordered from Vista Print (LOVE their deals!).
Step two was to glue a "hook" type thing to the back so they'll go on the displays.
I obviously should of taken a picture of that, but I wasn't thinking!
Then I used a tape measure to mark where the holes for the earring wires should go.
Then I made the holes with a 1/16th hole punch (did you even know they have those?)
Last I took each pair of earrings, wrote new price and inventory tags, and put them on the cards!





I'm guessing I did about 75 pairs of earrings?
I didn't really bother to count...
But the backs I used came in a pack of 100,
and I think there are about 25 left.

Like I said, lots of work, but I think it's well worth it!




Wednesday, July 7, 2010

New Books!



We went to Powell's Books today and my Uncle bought me these books! Now I'm all torn. I have so much to do right now....but I want to make beads! I'm changing over all my earrings to new cards, and I need to assemble the cards and transfer everything before Saturday's market. So that really needs to be my priority right now. But it would be so much more fun to play with the beads!

I've been wanting to expand what I offer in my shop. My shop isn't very well stocked at the moment, but that's because I need to take improved photos, not because I lack inventory. I want to branch out into new areas and featuring fun supplies is one of the things I want to do! I already have some paper beads up in my shop, but I've also been wanting to learn how to create and feature beaded beads and fabric beads. I'll begin to use them in my own work of course, but more than that, I want to have them available to sell!  These books will be perfect to teach me some of the techniques I need to expand my business.

Another thought I've had is that I might see if I can wholesale handmade beads, of any type, to my local bead store. I want to make up a selection and then I'll present my idea to the gal who runs the store that I already have jewelry in on commission. That will be awhile before I get too it because life is busy - but maybe by fall?

Friday, July 2, 2010

Pirates Swag!!!



Look at all the swag I got today! And at 50% off or more! Woohoo!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

So Tired....

It's been a long day, but a good day. I haven't gotten much done on the crafty front, but I got some bills paid, had a good doctors appointment (plan to talk about that tomorrow), spent some time with my Mom, time with John/Bec/and babies, and now I'm wiped out!

I just wanted to let everyone know, in case you noticed, that I haven't run my blog contest the last two months. (I think that's all its been. I do plan on running it again this month, so comment, comment, comment if you want to win free stuff from my shop!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Mixed Media Project

Now I'm well aware that you guys, my family and friends, are probably looking at the time stamp on this one and going, "Ruthie you dear goober...what on EARTH are you doing up and writing a blog at this time of the morning?" Well, at least some variation of that. The answer is two fold. 1. I've been sleeping weird do to meds anyway. 2. I spent about an hour and a half lying in bed developing this idea in my head and I simply had to get up and draw it out, and then write it out! There will be no rest until I do :P I actually got up and drew it out and then laid in bed for another half an hour or so developing it more in my head!

So what are you looking at? This is going to be a mixed-media piece that's based in cross-stitch. I'll go through and explain what I'm thinking for each of the elements. I did try to label each of the elements so you can decipher my drawings, but you'll need more than that to really know what I'm thinking!



~ First: This will be done on cross-stitch fabric. I don't know what count yet...I'll figure that out as I evaluate the project more. I thought about doing embroidery, but I just don't have the talent/experience for that and I DO have the experience to do this in cross stitch!

~ "To Live is to Create." I love this quote! This is where it all started. I was originally going to do a book mark with the words and then maybe a butterfly (and I still might) but then I started thinking about how it was more appropriate to include crafty type things with this quote. I thought of a couple of elements and next thing I knew it was starting to get too big to be a book mark. That's when my brain jumped to this multi-media piece. (I should mention here that I've always been fascinated with multi-media). For the main quote it will be cross stitch. I'm thinking the words "To," "is," and "to," will be done in a base color like black, and then "Live" and "Create" will be in a rich, vibrant color.

~ Butterfly - Since this was part of my original idea, and I love butterfly's, I wanted to include it! Besides, I've always thought that the butterfly is one of God's most creative and beautiful creations :) I also like how it helps to space the words out.

~ Journal - I'll make this out of construction paper or scrap booking paper. I'll make 3 rectangles (different colors?) and glue them together at the center seam using a toothpick to apply the glue. I'm toying with the idea of using a gel pen to write inspirational words on the inside pages like, "Live, Love, Laugh, Dream, Dance, Dare." Then I'll stitch along the back seam to attach it to the fabric and to create a finished journal look. This is to represent both paper crafts and writing.

~ Flowers - These are to represent all sorts of growing things and the art involved in nourishing them. Don't know what type of flowers I'll use, but something basic :P These will be done in cross stitch.

~ Quilt - I'm going to hand quilt a couple pieces of fabric (no actually batting) together in a 2"x1" square. I'll have a single color for the fabric and then use some fancy thread to quilt it. Tack it down on the corners to the fabric maybe? This is to represent all of the sewing crafts :)

~ Vase - Can't forget the clay and ceramic artists! I'm hoping to have one of my etsy friends to make a half vase with little holes along the edges so I can tack it down. I have a friend here in town who's a clay artist so she's first on my list :)

~ Easel - I'll do the easel in cross stitch and then I'm planning on getting some fabric paint and using toothpicks to make a small impressionist painting out of two or three colors. Yay for all the artists who draw and paint! NOT my specialty - hence - the impressionism :P

~ Bracelet - This IS my specialty :) I'll do bead embroidering to make a band of sorts. I'm thinking I'll put either a very small dichroic cab or a lampwork bead in the center to represent the glass artists. The majority of the bracelet will be completely sewn onto the fabric, but I'm thinking the toggle and the loop that would go around it will be "popping off" of the fabric to add to the 3d effects being created in this piece.

~ Baby Photo and Frame - Having children and raising them is a form of creation as far as I'm concerned! I'm hoping that my brother will let me use a picture of his twin boys. I'll probably get some small pieces of balsa wood to make a small frame, glue the picture to the frame, and then tack the frame down.

~ Guitar - I've always wanted to play guitar so I figured it's the best instrument to use to represent the musical arts! This one will be another cross stitch piece.

~ I'm going to put a plain backing on it and frame it with the same hoop that I make it on. That will add to the crafty/kitschy look. I'm thinking add the backing, tack it down to the back of the hoop using first glue and then some staples to secure it. It's probably going to take two sets of hands to glue it right....and maybe some clothes pins to hold it while it's drying... The outer piece of the hoops I'm going to wrap in ribbon (probably purple) then I'll use the fastener for the hoop to create a ribbon hanger for it and cover it up with a bow or something like that.

I plan on using blues, purples, and greens in jewel tones for the projects (my favorites!) I'll probably put it up for sale, but I'm making it more for me and I'll hang it in my crafty area until it sells, or never sells. At the very least, it'll be a great show piece!

I have a lot of projects that really need to come first, and my bad wrist is acting up, so I don't expect to complete this for at least 6 months. It should take me that long to find the time to do the actual design and assemble all the pieces and do all the cross stitch.

My plan is to see if I can find paper online that is the actual size of cross stitch squares to help me to do the design work. Or maybe they'll carry it in the craft store. There have to be some good tools to do stuff like this. I can use graph paper or my bead program to create a lot of things, but it will be much simpler to create the elements to size since this is as complicated as it is. Then I can create a representation of each element, put some sticky tape on the back, and move the elements around until I'm happy with it. If anyone knows where to find the right type of paper for that, let me know!

Also - if anyone can think of any really important creative things that I should be representing - please give me your ideas!

ACK! I just realized I missed the fiber arts! Like crochet or knitting. Hmmm....I'll make a note that I need to figure out how I want to include those... 

Monday, June 28, 2010

To Live is to Create



I ran across this quote by Bruce Lee of all people and had to share it!

"To Live is to Create
To live is to express, and to express you have to create.
Creation is never merely repetition.
To live is to express oneself freely in creation."
~ Bruce Lee

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Crafty ADD #33

Wow - I've really missed doing my crafty ADD updates! Of course, I've really missed crafting too. My migraines have kept me from doing very much of it lately. *sigh* I actually have something to share with you though, so here it is!

Crochet


This actually is NOT the project I was planning on working on. Last market I made it too I sold 2 out of my 5 book marks. So I really need to make some right? Well I designed a vampire one that I'm really excited about, but forgot to factor how big it would be based on what sized thread count I used. Um yah. WAY to big with the thread count I have. So I'm working on this one (It'll eventually say "Beach Read") until I can get a smaller thread count. After all I need more than one book mark! LOL

Jewelry


I'm making a second hair piece! Very excited about that :) This one is going much easier because I can do the whole thing in larger sized beads. So it'll actually be worth what I'm charging for it instead of a lot more :P


And I know that's a bad picture, but I made myself a toe ring! I just had a really hard time taking the pic. I love it though! I made it with stretchy cord, some glue to make sure the knot holds, a millifiori center bead, and size 8 seed beads. I made it both because I love toe rings and I haven't had one in a long time, and because I want to start making some rings (or toe rings!) out of stretchy cord and I wanted to test out how durable they are. I'll know more soon!


Saturday, June 26, 2010

One Day at a Time

I really do hope that I'll get back into a "normal" one of these days. This last week has been one of my worst weeks ever with migraines. I've had severe migraines for a long time, but I've never had this many acute episodes all together before. I've been to ER twice now and I'm running on narcotics. Really frustrating. Talking to doctors more next week and hoping we'll come up with more that we can do to stop these. In the mean time...

I haven't been getting much done at all crafty-wise lately. I've gotten some writing done (you can hear me talk about that at my jedi blog) but that's about it. I did get a pattern designed earlier this week though! Yay! It's going to double as both a book mark and a bead woven bracelet. Really excited about that because it's a vampire themed piece and I figure that's likely to sell right now with all the vampire hype going around. Well, more likely to sell than my other pieces maybe? We'll see.

I'm also working on a new commission right now that's similar to this one. It's actually for the ladies daughter! I'd take a picture and show you where it's at in progress, but I'm at my parents house doing laundry and I don't have my camera with me.

Hey - I guess blogging is a start at getting back to normal right? Now if I can do it tomorrow...

Monday, June 14, 2010

A Fun Commission

One of the best parts of starting out the market season, was that I got a unique (for me) commission the very first day I attended! One of the other market vendors wanted a hair piece to cover her bun. So I got to work!

It was a long process getting this made. First I found the beads, then I tracked down the write needle and some stretchy cord for beading, and then I started playing! I quickly realized that the cord wouldn't go through the smaller beads, so I went back to the bead store but they didn't have any good pinks in the larger size. So I decided to do the top part in thread (double sown to reinforce), and the sides in stretchy cord.

I also tapered in the sides making them smaller and smaller so that it would grip around the bottom of the bun. She might still need to use some bobby pins, but I wanted it to be as secure as possible on it's own.


I had to take a last shot of it with my hand in it (I don't have enough hair!) to show the 3d effect. I love how it turned out - and the best part is - she did too! Woohoo! AND she ordered one in different colors for her daughter :) Time to cracking on that :)




Sunday, June 13, 2010

Market Yesterday!

Yesterday I was back at the Battle Ground Saturday Market. It was good to be back! I missed the last day that I was supposed to work because of migraines, which is the same reason I've been missing so much on-line. Good news is that we're starting a new therapy for the migraines so hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon! I'll post about it on my other blog and leave you guys the link :)

Anyway, it was a slow day yesterday. We've been having terrible weather around here and it was the first sunny day in awhile! Lisa (another vendor) and I are guessing that people were too excited to finally be able to work outside to want to go shopping. It's also the weekend of the Rose Festival down in Portland, so we probably lost a lot of customers to the parade and the festivities down there.

Having said that, it was still a decent enough day. I was definitely hoping to do better, but I did good enough that I'm not going to complain. The thing that saved me was that I had a commission that I got paid for! It was a lot of fun to work on and I'll be posting about it in the next day or two.

This was the first time the hubby has ever spent the day at the market with me. He ended up pretty bored, but he handled it a lot better than I thought he would! (go baby!) and he even came up with several ideas to help me improve my display which was great :)

Saturday, May 29, 2010

A Hopeful Post


I know, I know - I've pretty much been absent for the last two months. Seems like every time I think I'm going to get back to a "normal" routine something else comes up! I'm hoping that's going to change though and that I'll be back to my normal blogging and listing and creating self :) So far - so good. One morning accomplished! Oh wait...that's not much of a start is it? Well here's hoping for more than just the one morning!

Seriously though, I had some pretty massive migraines this week and we're not really sure why it was so bad. I had about three days where all I did was sleep! Argh. I think it was just a bad convergence of factors, but it was still frustrating. So I stayed home from my Market today (probably good, it's wet out) to relax some. Having said that - I'm still kinda "working" around the house :P But this way I can rest!

I'm so bad at relaxing >_>

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Market Day and Renewed Focus

Yesterday was market day again - and I had a lot of fun! Normally I'm going to be doing the Markets every other week, but for the opening of the market I did two weeks in a row.

I made some small changes to my booth this week. The first is that I found the tray that you see above at Ross. I love it! The wood is perfect for displaying hemp and it looks better than when I had the bracelets just loosely displayed. I'm going to be moving the hemp necklaces at some point .... but I'm not sure how it'll work out just yet so I'll tell you about it somewhere down the road.


My hubby found this on top of the fridge when spring cleaning the other day and I realized it was perfect for displaying my charms! I used to have enough counter space that I could display my coffee mugs on the counter. I haven't been able to do that in a long time so I kinda forgot I had it. I may eventually get another one when I have more inventory :)


This is the featured booth of the week! It's one of my nearest neighbors. Doesn't he do beautiful work? He has a gorgeous accent too ( I need to ask him where he's from). And don't worry, it's not like I have a crush or anything, he's an older guy :P I just love voices!


Do you SEE the temptation I'm faced with every week? And to make it worse ... their fudge is delicious! So far I've been a good girl and only had one sample a week. I'll probably buy my hubby some if I have a really good week. Bringing home sweets is a great way to keep the hubby happy :P

I did pretty decent this week. I didn't make my sales goal, but I made enough to make me happy and consider it a pretty decent today. I also met a lady that I might start teaching to bead weave! I really hope it happens because I've been thinking for awhile that it would be great to teach, and this would give me a great chance to get some experience.

I'm feeling really psyched about business stuff right now. I mean, I enjoy doing my jewelry no matter what, but having the regular venue is really renewing and channeling my focus again. I have a lot of ideas, but I'll talk about those in a different post.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Crafty ADD #32

Boy it's been a long time since I've posted one of these! The last month has just been weird. First I spent about two weeks at the hospital every spare moment I could with my brother, his wife, and their kids (she had two lovely twin boys and they are now doing wonderfully!). Then I got really sick for a bout a week. Then, not long after recovering from that, I ended up with major oral surgery! Wow. No wonder I feel like I've been absentee from the on-line world lately.

I haven't done any crocheting. Which is bad, cuz the boys are born and it isn't done, but I figure as long as I get it to them in the first few months we're good right? I've done some cross-stitch, but I forgot to take a picture and I don't want to go take one :P I'll show you where I'm at with the next update!

My major focus has been jewelry the last two weeks because I started the Saturday Market season and I've been working hard on display's and inventory!

This is a custom order I did for a friends mom. It was really neat, her daughter bought the necklace for her birthday, and then the mom decided she wanted a full set! Sweet eh? I had fun designing the earrings. I wanted something that would compliment the design of the bracelet and necklace (which match). It took three tries, but I found something I fell in love with and I will be making more for my shop!

Charms tend to be a big seller for me. $3-5 depending on what they are made of, so it's a cheap and easy item to pick up. Doesn't hurt the wallet. I knew I needed to make more but I got extra incentive when I picked up a coffee cup holder to hang them from! I'm not sure I have what I'd consider a "full inventory" (ie, what makes the holder look nice and full) yet, but that's enough for this week! Especially since I made most of those today...and there are other projects to work on!
3 of these sets of earrings were for specific people, and the rest are just to keep the stock up in my shop :) I'm kinda in the habit of making multiple pairs of earrings whenever I sit down to make one specific pair. They don't take long to make up and it's a good way to keep up inventory! Especially since these also tend to be good sellers :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Opening Day at the Market

I had a lot of fun at the Market on Saturday! I definitely have some things I want to work on with my display, but that's ok, I have all summer to keep getting better and better right?

Here's my Necklace Table


Earrings, Bracelets, and Everything else...

The above table is the one that I want to do the most work on. I am going to change up my earring display and I want to have something neater than just having things laid out on the table. Don't know exactly what I'm going to do for that part yet though!

Cute Doggy that visited us!


I got my face painted!


With a rose of course :)

Isn't she sweet?

Isn't that shirt screaming for a necklace? My mother in law bought it for me a couple of weeks ago and I have a necklace 2/3rds done for it. But I ran out of beads :P So I wasn't able to complete it in time for this week. Ah well, there will be future weeks!

Over all it was a good day. I didn't make a ton of direct sales, but I have two commissions and a repair I'm doing, so that's bringing a bunch more money in and over all makes for a good day!