Gettin' my MOJO back...

well...kinda. =)  A few weeks ago, I found this awesome website (http://humblebeads.blogspot.com/2014/03/mojo-challenge-week-3-back-to-school.html)  which offered some ways to challenge yourself in your jewelry making abilities.  They suggested joining a "challenge" and while I'm doing "BeadSoup", I wanted something with a little more instant gratification?  Anyway, so this week's theme was to "Learn Something New"

A few weeks before this, Swarovski (my most favoritest company on the planet) announced their new colors and products for the season.  One of the new colors is called "Crystal Iridescent Green".  Doesn't sound terribly fantastic but my oh my!  The pearls with this color are AMAZE-BALLS!!

In my haste to get my hands on some of these babies, I ordered some pearls which I didn't realize were "half drilled".  As the name suggests.... they're only drilled half way through.  Seems like not a big deal, but it is kinda.  I didn't have *any* idea of what to use to make these little babies work for me.  I searched high and low using "eye screw" "screw cap" "eye bead cap" "screw eye bead cap" - nothing worked.  WELL - come to find out - it didn't work because it's not a "screw" or "eye" it's a "peg".  Grrrrr - how would *I* know that?!  Yeah, I wouldn't.  thanks.

SOOOOOO I finally found some GORGEOUS "peg bead caps" and I was off and running.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/182075251/classic-crystal-green-gold-dangle

Aren't they INCREDIBLE?!



These pearls are drilled all the way through (which is typically how I purchase my beads)

Swarovski Crystal Iridescent Green Pearls AND Bicones

So whaddya think?

Jewelry Design MOJO:

So here's the Challenge...I started at week 3 (I'm actually already in 2 other challenges and have a HUGE bead soup challenge on the way, too!)....but am excited to see where I end up with this!  Thanks, HumbleBeads and ArtBeadScene!

 

My partner....

for the BeadSoupBlogParty is...... Lisa!!  Check out her blog right here: http://spudandmrsbutters.blogspot.com  I LOVE the name =)  Can't wait to get to know her.  Hooray!

Bead Soup - Year 2!

Some of you may remember, around this time last year, I started talking about "BeadSoup" -well...it's upon us again!  BeadSoup started as a facebook group of women who were jewelry makers/designers and decided to swap beads and see what they could all do.  What an INCREDIBLE idea!

Last year, I participated in my first Soup and was matched with a woman from Kentucky.  She stretched me to look at different metals, where I was once an exclusive Silver girl - and opened my eyes to new types of beads, including ones she made of clay.  I'm REALLY excited to participate again and can't wait to see who my partner is and what we can learn from each other.

Here's what I made last year - I STILL love it!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Charity Sarazin was our BIG WINNER!!  She chose the Orange pendant - her favorite color!

WOOHOOO!

It's GIVEAWAY TIME!!

It's GIVEAWAY TIME!!  

250 FANS is worth celebrating!  

You could win a pendant similar to this one - other color options available

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hey - what's the on the back of your neck?

Continuing the series on Whys It So Expensive?!......

So, we've talked about the wire....we've talked about special beads.... now, the fun part - CLASPS!  One of my favorite things about making jewelry is, as I refer to it, "righting the wrongs of jewelry designers past", CLASPS!  We all know them....the little springing thing that you have to practically rip your fingernail off to get pulled back, and then do a dance with the necklace to get into the teeny tiny little hole that they've provided to latch to.  BLEAH!  Guess what?!  They don't have to be so horrid!  It's true!

My favorite types of clasps are magnetic, toggle and hook & eye.

MAGNETIC
How much time do we WASTE trying to get those little springs into the little hole, while the bracelet flips and flails around our wrists?  There's no need! Magnets all the way, baby! Many older ladies comment "Oh this is so great for my arthritic hands"....honey it ain't great just for those hands - how about ANY hand?  What I love about the magnets is that all you have to do is get them close together and they do all the work for you!  How wonderful, right?  Here's a sample of some pieces with magnets....

https://www.etsy.com/listing/115818697/square-champagne-gold-bracelet

Here's a sample of a *necklace* with a magnetic clasp.  This piece was begging for a beautiful clasp!  The crystals on the clasp matched and it was a perfect fit!  What's great about this clasp is that it can be worn in the front OR back - making what I call a "2-fer" - 2 pieces for the price of one... wear clasp in front or back! =)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/121690359/mother-bridal-pearl-and-purple-crystal


















TOGGLE
The next type of clasp to talk about is the Toggle.  One of my favorites!  It is, in simplest form, a circle with a bar that comes up and through the center.  VERY easy for anyone to do.  In it's more extravagant form, it can be worn in the front or even on the side.  Here are some examples:

I'd wear this in the back - but you can see the toggle clearly
https://www.etsy.com/listing/178824158/pink-purple-clear-ab-necklace-quartz

Beautiful Leaf clasp - worn in the front or back
https://www.etsy.com/listing/160691973/lime-green-turquoise-and-antique-copper

HOOK & EYE
And one last, for today's lesson - the hook and eye.  You can see on this piece the little hooks on either side of the orange bracelet, in the front (yes! the orange detaches and can be worn as a bracelet!  Another 2-fer!).  In this case, since I wanted the bracelet to be easily removed, I went with this type of clasp.  It's very classic, and gets the job done...but I will say, it can be a little tricky getting that hook into the teeeny tiny little hole - but MUCH easier than the springs =)  These types of clasps are also good for necklaces which are don't have a lot of weight, because the toggle does need some downward force to keep it in place (if that makes sense).

(Listing coming soon!)

Until next time!

Something new!

Another installment of "Whys It So Expensive".....

Something I'm quite excited to share is that I'm working on playing with some new types of beads (to me).  I've embarked on an adventure to use more hand crafted beads.  I've found some AMAZING artists and I can't wait to share these new pieces!  So, this brings me to my next reason why hand crafted jewelry often has higher prices.

See, when a designer purchases a bunch of beads they can buy from a whole smorgasbord of different places.  There are bead warehouses, local bead stores, big box craft stores, craigslist, ebay, independent websites, other designers, shows, garage sales.....you get the idea.  Just as with most things - prices vary and are all over the map.  Which can make it difficult to figure out an average price of the mass produced beads.

Hand crafted beads are a whole different story.  Rarely will you see someone who has made the exact same bead and comparing their prices to someone else is very, very tough.  But despite that - it's worth the expense to expand horizons to try something new.  It's been so very exciting to see other people's vision come through their work.  The only bummer is that these types of beads can be quite expensive.    So choosing those beads, wisely, is important.  Even more important to to understand that these beads are handcrafted and one of a kind.... just as I make my pieces one of a kind - so do bead artists.

Generally, I like to keep the prices of my pieces reasonable (under $100) but sometimes with these amazing beads it's not possible.  BUT you can also know that you're getting some AMAZING products!  Here are some examples:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RachelArt-Red-Yellow-Orange-Spiral-Lampwork-Glass-Disc-Beads-Handmade-/141163596235

$45 starting price











http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRIZASDESIGNS-Handmade-glass-lampwork-bead-REF-LB0382-SRA-/171214725801?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27dd3162a9

$75 starting price











http://www.ebay.com/itm/handmade-glass-lampwork-beads-Amethyst-Gold-XXL-Glass-Focal-by-Radiantmind-/130971998888?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7e8a1aa8

 $54 starting price











Obviously these pieces are GORGEOUS and require some extra love and care.  But aren't they AMAZING?!!?!?!? =)

So...why's it so expensive

This weekend, I have a rare Saturday off.  I don't have a show and it feels kinda nice. =)  I'll be sad when my bank account looks the same on Sunday, as it does today, but I could use some forced rest and frankly, God closed all the doors for shows this weekend - so I'm gonna enjoy it.

Something that's been on my mind, as of late, has been.....pricing.  Some folks look at my pieces and say "WOW! SO cheap!" others say "Yeah, not THAT cute" so I wanted to take a little time and explain "Why so much".

First, some education - when I started making jewelry - one thing I had to learn was the language.  Much like other hobbies, be it a sport or craft, you need to learn the words to make yourself, at least, SOUND like you know what you're talking about.  More importantly, when you don't MAKE something - you don't really care about what's inside - you just see that it's "hot" or it's "not". 

One of the largest reasons my jewelry is priced where it is (and I believe it's priced very competitively AND fairly - I do need to eat, buy medicine and of course, new beads) is because of the materials that I choose to use.  One of the most expensive things being wire.  Now, you may be thinking "Wait...hold up!  I don't have WIRE in my necklace - it's all beaded and pretty...ain't no wire here!" - well - actually - look between the beads...what's holding them in place?  It may be wire, or thread or some other fiber.  If you've purchased from http://CherryOnTopDesign.Co - nearly all of my pieces have wire somewhere in them...either strung on wire or held together by wire.  That wire is VERY important - without it - you have no necklace!

As with many pieces and parts, there are different "grades" of wire...good, better, best.  Personally, I choose to use the "best" wire because not only does it create a stronger piece, but it ensures that one day it's pretty unlikely that  your beads will fall off your neck and fall to the floor like little ping pong balls flittering in every direction known to man.  I like "best" wire because as a consumer, I want to know that YOU (designer or in this case, I) have thought of me (or this case - you the customer) and thought highly enough of me to "use the very best".  The truth is - in every single piece of jewelry I make...I try to think of YOU, what is easy (magnetic clasps on bracelets, toggle clasps on necklaces, ear nuts on earrings)  and what drives me insane as a consumer.  I guess I'm trying to fix the wrongs, as I see it, in the jewelry industry (one piece at a time!).  Er something like that.

SO - next time you're at a craft show and see a piece of jewelry for $5, ask them about their materials...why they chose it...why they choose not to use higher grade materials and let me know what they say. 

Don't get me wrong - $5 jewelry can be good...and trust me....I bought it for YEARS!  I can only imagine how much money I spent on jewelry before making it myself...but remember this...

Life is too short to wear crappy jewelry. =)

=(

The last few days have been some tough ones.  I've been weepy, more nauseated than usual, and generally down.  Today, we learned that my father has a somewhat aggressive auto-immune disorder, that if not treated quickly, can result in blindness. 

There was a shooting at the Washington Navy Yard....a place I nearly took a job.  Thankfully, none of my 'people' were injured or killed.  Praising God for that.

Today, is the 16 year anniversary of my mother's death.  She had cancer - unknown origin - with it spreading to her liver and lungs.  Approx 11:15 a.m. she passed peacefully, in to the arms of Jesus and the Angels who were there to bring her home.  I felt the presence of the angels.  I felt the warmth of their presence in the room and specifically over her.  Something I'd never experienced before or since - thankfully. 

It's been an emotionally draining time....glad I finally figured out what was happening in my spirit.  I love her so much and wish she were here - so so so so so much.

See you soon, Mommy!