Hope For Etsians!

There's hope for us Etsy ladies out there!  Check out this article in the New York Times.

Can't Decide

I apparently haven't found my niche yet.  I like everything that has to do with beading (except seed beads because I don't have the patience).  We all have so many different things that we like.  Why must we choose?  I'll show you what I've been busy working on lately and you'll see what I mean.

I got a little creative with some of those backgrounds.  :)  Art beads are, of course, the most impressive and the most fun to work with.  I hope you had a chance to visit the Beads-of-Clay Open Studio on Sunday.  There were some major buys and lots of prizes.  I'll be showing off what I purchased soon.  But until then, here's a few items I made with Gaea's ceramic beads.

 

 

I can't say enough good things about her beads.  The glazes are amazingly rich!  And so many different creatures and whimsical items to choose from.

I also made some "magical" earrings.  Oh yes, magical.  They grant wishes.  Well, I wish they did.  These are made from the canteloupe Swarovski crystals that change colors depending on what type of lighting they are in.

OUTSIDE

INCANDESCENT LIGHT

FLUORESCENT LIGHT

All of these pretties will be going into the Bei Mondi shop and Etsy in the next few days.

I've got my earrings ready for the exchange but I'm waiting on the "extras".  Every gift needs some extras, right?  "Mr. Postman, where are you?  My friend needs her stuff."

I'll leave you with the music of Regina Spektor.  Her voice and piano playing captures my heart and won't let go!

Check Out My Website

Unfortunately, I didn't get chance to make my way to blogging yesterday. I think I've told some of you that we've been working on creating a website. My hubby is a software engineer so he was stoked, of course, to do it. I kinda have mixed feelings on it. It's another way to get people looking but I don't expect much traffic and the upkeep may be a hassle. We shall see. Most of the items I have for sale are on Etsy and the website. When you choose to buy on the website it redirects you to the Etsy page. There are a few items that are only on the website and we even have a spotlight item which is on sale for 10% off. This item will change every week. Please check out the website when you have the time. I'd love to hear input on the style and layout.

BeiMondi.com

Here's this week's spotlight item.

Fallen Leaf Lariat
Pink Ocean Jasper oval stones trail through an Vintaj antique brass leaf focal piece resembling leaves falling from the trees in autumn. Chain is Vintaj antique brass with a length of 24 inches.

I'll still be contributing to my Etsy shop hopefully daily. I still think this is the best way to pick up business. I made this copper beauty to add to my Etsy shop. It features the same stones as the lariat featured above.

Harvest Time Copper Bracelet (on Etsy later today)
Yummy warm copper linked between pink ocean jasper. Each stone varies in shades of cream, taupe, tan, and amber with an occasional pink hue. Center contains nice large focal stone along with copper washer with a sweet swirl design. Piece clasps together with a handmade toggle design with a hammered copper washer. All copper has been oxidized and hand polished to create a glowing rich patina.

Oh, and I noticed Jeanette at Fundamentals.com has the copper washers I am constantly using and they are at a better price than what I paid. These are the ones Sharilyn Miller uses in her new Contemporary Copper Jewelry book. They are so much fun to hammer and polish up. I've even started playing with brass washers I found at Lowe's. I made a bracelet and earrings with a combination of these brass and copper washers that I'll post later. You've gotta give these a try! Have a great Tuesday!

Copper and Silver Wire Work

Here's the guy that really tore up my hands this weekend. Pulling this wire tight is pretty difficult. I tried Sharon's idea from before about combining copper and sterling silver. The two metals really look nice together and I thought the moonstones would mimic the colors of the metal and not take away from it. I like the results but I'll be wearing gloves from now on. Ouch!

Seductive Aura Moonstone Necklace

These little guys I made to match. They are a bit crazy but kinda fun too.

They are up now on Etsy so let's see if they get much love. Ok, that's it for me. See ya, girls!

Happy Labor Day!!!

Goodness! I have so many blog posts to get caught up on today. I might have to spend the day at the computer to get them all read. I hope you all had a great weekend and Happy Labor Day to everyone!

I have been busy, busy, busy. I was working on several wire projects over the course of the past few days and my poor hands are feeling the results. I have areas on my hands split open from pulling the wire, chunks taken out of my knuckles, and numbs for fingertips left from the steel wool. Yeah, I try to use gloves with the steel wool but they usually get in my way and I end up doing without. I know, that's bad. So, needless to say, I won't be doing any hand modeling any time soon. And what do I have to show for my beat-up hands? Three bracelets, two necklaces, and five pair of earrings. All the pieces have been oxidized and some polished. Some already called for and will be shipped out soon.

Here's what I'm showing off today.

Monet's Water Lilies Lampwork Bracelet
Lampwork beads from Norma Brink again in a wide range of colors. This bracelet is very simple but I think those beads have such depth to them and I didn't want to take away from that in any way. All wrapped in sterling silver that's been hammered to flatten the loops then oxidized and polished.

I also made these free form swirl earrings to match which have the same bead as one on the bracelet. These might go in the Etsy shop or they just might get put on my website. More info on that to come.

Ok, so I think I have five people so far for the Thanksgiving earring swap. I'll continue to mention it every now and then to see if we can get a few more in the group. Also, if you gals have any jewelry making friends that you want to mention it to please go ahead. The more the merrier!

Glowing Copper

Hey guys! Just one going in the shop today. This was the "project" piece that gave me so much trouble. I replaced the copper around the center with an artistic design. I guess you can call that art. I like it, it's different. I was going to try silver with the copper like Sharon suggested but something didn't look right to me. I will try this idea on future projects though because I love the look of mixed metals. Thanks for the suggestion, Sharon!

Autumn Skies Copper Bracelet
So much glowing copper in this beautiful piece. Large Itasy jasper holds soft warm hues of gray, pink, and cream. Focal stone has artistically wound copper surrounding it which brings out the rust colored spots within the stone. Made with hammered copper washers that are connected with petite swirls and held together with a handmade clasp. All copper has been oxidized and hand polished to bring out the brilliant shine.

I'm really loving copper. I think it's so much easier to work with than silver I guess because it's softer. Plus, once it's oxidized and polished it seems to have so much luster to it. And you can't beat the price! That's an added bonus. I think you'll see many more designs with copper from me in the near future. And that warm rust colored glow would go perfect with fall colors. Perfect timing! What do you gals prefer? Silver, brass, or copper?

C'est la vie

Hello and good morning! How did everyone's weekends go? Lots of sunshine and fun I hope.

Well, it looks like I lost a follower so hence the title of today's post. I'm trying to not let it get me down. So, "C'est la vie"! You win some, you loose some!

I've decided to lower some of my prices in my shop and also add free shipping. This might bring in more traffic, who knows. Pricing is kinda tough and I feel like I'm all over the place. I'm hoping if I narrow down the range of prices I can zero in on a more specific group of buyers. What works best for you when it comes to pricing? Do you price a piece by adding every bead and piece of wire along with exactly the length of time it took to make? Or do you price your items based on what you would pay or what you think others would pay? I love advice!

Ok, I'll throw today's piece out here real quick and then get on with today's post.

Happy Buddha

Happy Buddha charm looks content hanging out on this piece made with sterling jumprings, silver wire, beach glass in muted mint green and a darker forest green. Also includes a soft suede strap and sterling swirl clasp. I like the silver with the brown strap, it really stands out.

Ok, I need your help. I've desperately been looking for a bead with no success. Here's the picture. I am trying a find the swarovski filigree brass ball bead like on this bracelet. I love this vintage look. The stones are of a dark hue and not super shiny. Any idea where I can find one? Maybe this is an older bead that they no longer make. Also, for those of you who buy chain, where do you purchase it from? I am looking for all types of metals with a larger size link and a more intricate design.

Hope your Monday isn't going too bad. I know how Mondays can be. Ugh!

Use the Muse Bracelet

Happy Friday!

I realized last night that I hadn't posted my entry for the Use the Muse contest. For those of you not familiar with the contest you can check it out here. Mine is the very last one in the gallery (I'm use to being last since my last name starts with a Z) and mine is rather simple compared to most of the entries but that's what I like.

Over the Top
I used all the items in the kit except I added the Bali silver beads that mimic the design in the muse, silver wire, and a silver sliding clasp. I love the blues and purples.

I thought I would add a picture of my daughter's craft project that she did recently. There is a place close to us called "The Crafty Shack" where we love to paint pottery. This place has so many different pieces to choose from and they offer classes on making your own pottery. Lauren loves it because she's able to make so many choices for herself from picking out her own piece of pottery to all of the colors and what technique she wants to use on painting them. As you know, kids usually don't get to make too many decisions for themselves. Just look at the Subway commercials! Anyway, here's the piece she made when we last went there. She first painted the background using a bubble method where she got to blow bubbles in the paint with a straw. What fun! Then she glued the mirror onto the piece and finished it off with wire along with beads. Some of these are paper beads that we created earlier with scrapbook paper and glue. I think she did a great job! I know some of you are into mixed media, scrapbooking, quilting, etc. and I'd love to see some of your art work.

It's Monday already! Yikes!

Happy Monday! All of us here worked really hard on the yard yesterday. We had 4 yards of top soil delivered and spent the day spreading it around the yard to fill in the tire tracks from having the walkway poured. I spent so long making sure it was all even and this morning I woke up to footprints all in the dirt. It just so happens that right next to where we were working there is a crab apple tree and deer love crab apples. Enough said! Ugh!

Frozen Lake Tilicho Bracelet
Well, I'm adding one to the shop today. This bracelet has several different elements to it. I just love the spiky silver ball. That's my favorite part. It also includes a lampwork bead by Java Bead, a Swarovski square crystal ring, apatite, yellow turquoise, rhyolite, and lots of silver. It's a bit delicate since this is made with 24 gauge half hard wire but I like the look.

I'm trying out something new. I paid to promote an item on Etsy on their bracelet page for today. I would be astonished if it created a sale but I would at least hope for looky-loos. I'll let you know the results. It was $7 to promote which seems pretty steep but if it adds more traffic to my Etsy page then it was well worth it. Mama needs to bring home the bacon! hehe I'm also on Facebook now but I'll be posting the same thing each day as my blog. Where do you gals sell your jewelry? Anyone do anything other than Etsy? And what has worked best for you? I'm new to this so I love advice!

Oh, and here are some photos of last weeks "girl day". They are a bit on the blurry side but it's pretty hard to take pictures in a place that's so dark. We had sushi for lunch (yum) and then headed over to Monster Golf! This place is so cool. The whole place is dark when you walk in but soon you see why. Everything is painted to glow in the black lights and there are monsters that move and make noise throughout. It's a bit distracting when you are trying to get a hole in one. Enjoy your morning!

Found Treasure

I've been so intrigued by skeleton keys lately. I like to think about where those old keys have been, what they were used for, and who cherished them. Each one that I bought recently is unique in it's own way like fingerprints. I've told my daughter that maybe one opened a treasure chest or an old trunk holding wonderful memories possibly love letters. My mind wanders around with all possibilities. My new favorite is actually barrel keys. These hold all of the excitement as skeleton keys but with a more petite size. Ok, enough of my rambling.

Here's today's item for the shop. And no big surprise that it includes a key!

Isabella's Secret
What a dainty little key! This beauty has a heart shaped cut out on the top and is only one and a fourth inches long. This is a shorter type of lariat made with the steel key on one end and a large Swarovski pendant adorned with lots of moonstones on the other. The chain is sterling silver.

On a personal note, is any one's kids getting ...well... for lack of a better word, annoying? Or maybe I should say challenging. Are they just itching for school to start again? My daughter has decided this morning to bring every instrument she owns into the living room and attempt to play it. This includes harmonica, accordion, guitar, and recorder. She's supposed to practice her cello everyday but I'm sure she'll give me a fight when I mention that. The rainy weather doesn't help much either. And maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just grouchy because I need to get outside and feel the sunshine. Well, hopefully there is sun where you're at. Send some my way, please!!!

Girly Geisha

I stayed up late working on this little piece. I've had these crazy lace agate rectangle beads that have so much character but the yellows and reds intertwined within the stones is a rather harsh color. Needless to say, finding anything to compliment it was a challenge. The same goes for my Geisha charm from Green Girl Studios. So wonderful and sweet but what do I use to compliment it without taking anything away. Here's what I came up with.

Now, it's not perfect but that's what adds to the charm. I'm still learning about manipulating the wire and this was created with half hard sterling which was a challenge to bend. And yes, the "cage" around the yellow jade bead is supposed to look like that. That is the look I was going for. All in all, I like her! I will probably recreate the large jump rings on the end because they aren't what I was hoping for but besides that I think she's a keeper.

I guess I'm slowing on the shop. I will be adding at least one item today but I really need to get back in my little studio (the basement aka "the dungeon") and get back to work. I have several partial projects that are staring at me! Oh, and I have a question for you. I've been taking my pics in a light box but I've seen some really great pictures on Etsy that look like they've been taken outside. You can tell the difference in the lighting. Do you use a light box? And also, what's your favorite prop to use? Taking pictures is a challenge with my older camera but any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

Dendrobium Orchids

My lovely daughter is modeling this one for me. Lots of purples, pinks, and white. Super girly! I'm a big fan of the furnace glass beads. These are so much fun!

Color and Inspiration

Yawn! Mondays are so slow. Where's the coffee? I need more coffee.

I've been looking through my gems to find the perfect fit for the Art Bead Scene challenge for August. The inspiration piece is a well known painting by the name of Great Wave off of Kanagawa. It's very simplistic but holds such beauty and meaning. The colors are my favorite. A bit neutral with some deep blues thrown in. I'm thinking of sea glass with a nice charm. Simple but elegant.

So, what are your favorite color combinations? Do you actually follow the color fashion trends by Pantone or go for what you like? Where do you usually find your inspiration for color combinations? Shopping for clothes? Looking at paint samples? Staring at a color wheel? Checking out the neighbor's flowers? I tend to throw different beads together in a container and see which ones compliment each other. I don't really follow any color rules. I guess I go for what I like and what I know I would wear. As you can tell by looking at my jewelry, I tend to be more simplistic using only a few colors at a time. I hope with time I can learn to be more adventurous.

Ok, I'm moving slow today. I have one item ready to go to the shop. I'll probably have another this afternoon. This one comes from reading "Bead on a Wire" by Sharilyn Miller. Sharon from Livewire Jewelry suggested this one to me and I'm so glad she did. Thanks, Sharon!

Molten Lava
Beautiful Botswana agate chunks cagged in heavy sterling wire. Check out this color! When I saw the orange and silver together with a touch of the gray I immediately thought of lava and how it's first a bright orange and then cools to gray and then black.

This was loads of fun to make so I'll probably be playing with wire much more often if my pocket book will allow it. Make the best of your Monday!

New Items for Thursday

Fixing the yard was quite an experience yesterday. My back is feeling it this morning but I think I leveled out most of the dirt and covered all the tire tracks. My daughter and the neighborhood kids decided they wanted to "help out". They worked for about 5 minutes and noticed that the boy across the street was watching them (they are all girls). So, needless to say, they lost interest in helping and decided to make a "fort" out of the bushes I was discarding. And when I asked them why they needed to build a fort they said "to hide from the boy staring at us". Two of the girls hid behind the fort while the third paced back and forth yelling, "Don't look at us! Don't look at us!" It was a real treat.

Ok, here's the two items for today.

Zen Mountain Cuff
Yellow turquoise with lots of variation. Greens, yellows, blacks, and even some blues are all in the mix. All held together with sterling wire.

Biltmore's Bleeding Hearts
Here I go once again with tourmaline. It's my favorite. A couple of pearls thrown in for some shine and an interesting clasp that reminds me of lily of the valley flowers for some strange reason. Feminine and classic!

Just one more day left until the weekend. Enjoy it!