I decided to try something new last week. I had a few different components that I wanted to use in a jewelry design, but needed something else for the design. I had recently received some gorgeous sapphire or teal colored copper wire that I wanted to use in a necklace for myself. I also had a fun Scrabble tile pendant that had a black cat with a moon – I didn’t want to just hang this handmade pendant on a chain, I wanted to make a special necklace for it. That’s where Swarovski crystals from Artbeads come in…
I decided to order some gorgeous Swarovski crystals from ArtBeads. They had been featuring Swarovski all month, with some great specials offered. I chose a variety of crystals in various shapes and colors. I wanted to try some new types of Swarovski components – some that I don’t use every day and some that I had never used before. I chose crystals in blues, greens, bronze/gold and black. Here’s a photo of the crystals that I ordered – look at all the luscious colors!
After I received the crystals, I started playing around with the copper wire and crystals – just letting the design take shape as I worked with the wire and crystals. I ended up with a very free form necklace that works great with the Scrabble tile cat pendant. It’s completely different than any of my other pieces, but I think I like it. I still have some of the crystals left, and I’ll probably use those for some earrings!
It has been a very busy week for me, but also an exciting one! I’m getting ready for the Whimmydiddle arts & crafts fair in Scott City, Kansas this Saturday. I’ve made so many new pieces of jewelry this week, but haven’t had time to photograph any of them. It’s a good thing I’ve been stocking up on gemstones, beads and findings over the summer, because I’m using many new components in my pieces! I’m really looking forward to the weekend, as this is an event that draws a large crowd every year. It’s also the first time I’ve ever had my jewelry at an arts & crafts fair. I set up at the Whimmydiddle 30 years ago, when I was oil painting, but I’ve only sold my jewelry online. It will be interesting to see how this goes!
More exciting news this week… a pair of my earrings are in a contest over on “Made for me by Oaklie’s” blog on her “Great Finds” contest. Please visit her site and cast your vote for your favorite “Beeutiful Great Finds” contest. Contest entries had to be either black, yellow or white, or a combination of any or all. I didn’t have anything black and yellow, and all of my black jewelry has sold out, so I used a pair of white freshwater pearl earrings.
Another exciting piece of news was the news that I would be featured on a couple of blogs this week, and I’m also the featured artist on another Ning network. I’ve been asked to the Foxy Findings “Designer Spotlight interview” on Saturday. Foxy Findings is a supplier of beads and findings that I’ve just recently started using as one of my suppliers. They have a great selection and prices, and they offer all kinds of fun contests on Facebook and Twitter. I won a spool of their Foxy Flex blue sapphire copper beading wire from them last month, and am just getting ready to use this beautiful wire in one of my newest pieces (this piece is going to be fore me!). I’m very excited to have been asked to be interviewed for their blog, and I’m looking forward to it!
I’m also going to be featured tomorrow (Thursday) on VA Beach Quilters blog. She does such a great job at promoting fellow handmade arts & crafts people! Please be sure to check out her blog.
If that wasn’t enough excitement for the week, I’m also the featured artisan of the week on the On Fire for Handmade network on Ning. Anne also does a wonderful job of promoting shops that sell handmade goods. If you are an artist or crafts person, I highly recommend joining this Ning network! Lots of great support and friendship over there.
Well, I’ve gotta go now. Still need to make several more pieces of jewelry before this weekend! Have a great Thursday!
I love to cook and bake! And I really enjoy the times I spend cooking or baking with my great nieces, Taia and Rhiley. Taia and I baked sugar cookies this week, and had a great time rolling out the dough, cutting out the shapes, baking and then frosting the cookies. Yummy…. were they ever good!
Since I have loved to cook and bake since I was a child, when I came across the Kids Apron Giveaway in the daily Handmade Giveaways newsletter that I receive, I just had to enter this contest! And I wanted to share the details with my readers so that you can get in on the fun!
One of the aprons that I liked was the one with colorful apples and pears. Such a cute style and great colors, don’t you think? And when you order one, you also get a bonus doll apron!
You can find very cute tote bags and purses here also. My great nephew, Logan, would love this
one! He just LOVES Thomas the Train! His parents took him to see Thomas this summer, and he was
so thrilled!
If you would like to enter this contest, go to the Adventures of a Wanna-Be SupahMommy blog to enter. You can enter several different ways to increase your chances of winning.
Or…if you just want to purchase one of these great handmade items, go to Aprons for kids shop on Etsy and place your order.
In some of the various social networks that I’m involved in, I’ve come across several great giveaways and contests to enter. One of the Ning networks that I am a member of – Online Shopping Mall on Ning – just posted a blog that lists several current contest and promotions. Check it out on their blog. Full disclosure… My contest is listed on their blog! If you are reading this, hopefully you’ve already entered my giveaway for September! (chance to win a $40 gift certificate for my handcrafted jewelry).
Another site that lists contests and giveaways is Handmade Giveaways. They also send out a daily e-mail listing the daily additions to their blog. Great way to wake up in the morning with new contests in your mailbox!
I’ll post more of these as I find them!
I also noticed that Tracy has a great post about buying or making handmade gifts this holiday season. You will enjoy her blog – Braggin’ Rights!
This summer, while I’ve been working full time to promote & market my online businesses (handcrafted jewelry and political gifts & apparel on Zazzle & CafePress), I’ve found so many great places to buy and sell handmade items! I thought that I should post about a few that I’ve joined, just in time for Christmas shopping! I plan on buying handmade gifts this year, and I have so many great places to shop now!
One of my favorite sites is ArtFire Studios. They have a beautiful site that is easy to navigate, easy to list, and they are so very much in tune with what their sellers want! They recently added an ArtFire kiosk that you can use on your Facebook profile or page, and the new coupon option is wonderful! (I have one of the coupons posted on my blog sidebar – be sure to use it if you order from me!)
Another place that I’ve been spending a lot of time at is Ning. There are so many groups to join on Ning! I’ve met some great new friends and fellow craftspeople there! I’m a member of several groups over there. Have you tried Ning? If you join, please let me know and I’ll add you as a friend! Here’s my Ning profile.
One of the most recent sites I’ve joined is called FuzzB – I just love that name! FuzzB is another place to buy and sell handcrafted and other items. I just opened my shop over there and really like the set up they have. You can even upload a video commercial to your profile! To join, click here Register on Fuzzb.com.
Here is a link to my FuzzB shop (again, using one of their super cool widgets)…
These are just a few of the many new sites and networks I’ve found and joined recently. I’ll add some more later. There IS a reason that they call it the “world wide web”. It’s just like a spiderweb, once you get started. If I wasn’t a multi-tasker before I started selling and blogging online, I would for sure be one now. I have no less than 5 or 6 tabs open on my browser at all times, and I’m constantly updating, adding, joining and traveling around the never ending web! I always think that I’ve joined just about everything that I can, and have seen it all, but every day I find more places to join and more friends to meet and things to do!
We woke up to a stunningly beautiful western Kansas sunrise this morning! I wish that I had snapped a pic to show you! We may not have gorgeous mountains, lots of trees or shimmering oceans in Kansas, but one thing that we do have is some beautiful sunsets and sunrises!
Logan County Sunrise by WKS Images
Since I didn’t get a photo, here’s one that my brother captured during one of our sunrises…
My great niece, Taia is riding the school bus for the first time this year. She is in first grade, and seems so young to be getting on that big ol’ school bus by herself! But it is so cute to see how “big” she looks as she waits for the bus, with her school bag over her shoulder as she heads out the door. We thought it would be a struggle to get her ready and on the bus in the mornings, but she has surprised us all with her “big girl” attitude. She is growing up so fast, right before our very eyes!
Speaking of Taia, she is going through a period of “loose teeth”. She’s lost her two front teeth, and is now working on a third. She just can’t leave them alone! Every time she finds one that is even remotely loose, she starts working on it. With her “very loose” tooth this morning, and her two missing teeth, breakfast was nearly impossible for her to eat. We keep telling her that she will have to start eating baby food and drinking liquid “meals” if she isn’t careful. I fully expect her to arrive home from school this afternoon with her tooth in a plastic bag. Wonder which one she’ll work on next?
I first used Polyvore this week to enter a contest that one of my suppliers is having this month. Before that, I had never heard of Polyvore. Have you???
Well let me tell you, I’m having fun over there now! It’s a fun thing to do when I need a break. What is Polyvore? It’s a website where you can pick items (clothes, accessories, backgrounds, music, letters and more) that you like, and then drag the photos of your items to a blank page to create your own “online collage”. I used to love making collages when I was younger, and this is a fun, less messy way to make them online! You can mix & match products from your favorite stores and shop for items you like right from Polyvore!
So, as I was saying… I first tried them because I wanted to enter Foxy Findings blog contest this month. So I created my first Polyvore, using items that I found there, plus two items from Foxy Findings (requirement of contest). This was my first set…
After I made this set, I noticed they had a cool tool that allows you to click on a photo on a website and use it – you are not limited to the items on Polyvore’s site. How cool is that? So I was able to put some of my jewelry pieces on Polyvore to use in my sets. I did not realize that they would then be available for everybody to use! Imagine my surprise when I logged on to make a new set and noticed that others had started using my jewelry in their sets! Here are a few that I found using my pieces.
Aren’t they beautiful? Creative people out there! If you haven’t yet tried Polyvore, you ought to! It can get addicting, but at least you are creating something of beauty!
Don’t forget my Labor Day sale in my Artfire studio! 25% off everything this weekend only. Sale ends Monday, September 7th at midnight
Just a quick post to announce my Labor Day sale in my ArtFire studio. No coupon necessary. Everything is marked down 25%! GREAT time to do some Christmas shopping! Sale ends Monday at midnight.
I just read a great blog post at Kenneth Cole Shoes, and wanted to share!
“There is nothing better than handcrafted jewelry, which is a form of wearable art..
When you see someone selling handcrafted jewelry, you can be assured that the piece you are buying has been crafted to some pretty high standards. The handmade jewelry might be made with help of various beads and precious stones that a person might have gathered with own hands and by putting in lots of efforts but the credit for its creation has to go to mind and heart of the person, too.“ Read more on the Kenneth Cole Shoes blog here.
You can find very cute tote bags and purses here also. My great nephew, Logan, would love 
Bye Summer” ;(
