Finding My Creativity

It's been awhile since I've updated my blog...sorry! I've been re-adjusting to my kids being out of the house and trying to come up with new creative designs. 

One of the things I want to get back to are making pieces that come from the heart, pieces that represent something important in my life. So here's a picture of the Triple Moon pendant that I recently made and will be listing in my shop soon. This one is made using a lab grown Alexandrite set in fine silver.

 

Also, I'm so excited to announce that I successfully taught myself how to solder fine metals...woot woot!! Up until now all of my previous attempts ended in some messy glob, so I'm happy to show off these new rings that I made for myself out of scrap sterling, one is a London Blue Topaz, and the other is a Signity CZ.

I swear after that first successful solder I couldn't stop myself. Before I knew it, it was 2am and my focus was blurry but dangit I made 8 rings and all of them turned out great! Actually that's a fib -- the next day when I looked at the rings again one of the wide band rings was not to my liking because the solder and flowed into part of the pattern...so it's scrap now and I don't care cuz the rest of the rings turned out fab!! :D

Hopefully after I practice a bit more I'll start getting some of these listed in my Etsy shop so keep an eye out!

Another Treasury :)

Yay, I'm excited to be included in another treasury! Love the soft honey colors in this one!

I can't believe June has come and gone already! We've only had a few days of nice weather so it really hasn't felt much like summer. I've got so many things going on right now I think I need to make a list so I can keep track of it all. I have 9 jewelry commissions, sewing clothes for the FaerieWorlds Festival at the end of this month, making hair accessories, painting, replacing carpet, reupholstering furniture, repairing some drywall caused by a rather large piano getting stuck in my stairwell...and it feels like the list goes on and on. Hmm...funny...I didn't feel overwhelmed until I typed all of that down..LOL...well I guess that means I should start working on knocking some things off my list. I'm off off and away :)

Etsy Treasury

I'm so excited to be included in another Etsy Treasury!! Woot Woot

Honored

It's always an honor when someone includes me in a treasury on Etsy!!

A big thank you to the curator of this one: shannonbatescreates 

Happy Dance!

 

 

Yay...another milestone has been reached...800 sales!! Big thank you to all of my wonderful customers!

Busy Having Fun!

Sorry that I've been away! I've also failed at the "Listing-A-Day" Challenge. It started out with a seminar that I had to go to for my day job, then just 2 days after that my best friend arrived!! Needless to say we've been going non-stop...shopping, seeing family, shopping oh and eating...I think I've gained 10 lbs since she's been here, and I thought wine and cheese was good for you! Maybe not in excess huh? Oh well...I'm having an awesome time visiting with her, and this weekend we're off to a girls trip to the beach *yay*

I do however have a new Labradorite piece listed--

Blazing - Labradorite, Peridot, Carnelian and Sterling Silver Necklace

 

So I'll be closing up shop for my weekend trip, until then I'll be listing a few more items! I hope everyone is having a great week--I sure am :)

Day 13

Wow..I don't think it ever ceases to amaze me how fast time fly's...it's already day 13 of the April Challenge! If you want to check out the other sellers who are participating in this challenge you can see their listings in this Etsy forum thread. You may find something you can't live without :)

Dew Drop - Peruvian Opal and Sterling Silver Necklace

April Challenge

I'm still trying to keep up with the listing challenge for April. I missed yesterday not so much because I feel bad, but more because I was just being lazy :P I am feeling better though...my ears aren't clogged anymore but for some reason my sinus' are burning like I've been swimming and snorted water up my nose...yuck! Other than that life is just grand! So here's my two newest listings:

Lemon Drops - Citrine and Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings

La Luna - Pearl and Sterling Silver Necklace

It's Saturday....

Not much planned for today...I'm actually feeling crummy *sigh* I didn't feel so hot yesterday either, but I didn't want to get too far behind on the challenge so I worked through the fogginess that's lingering in my head and got two items listed in my shop. I'm determined not to let this cold get the better of me!!

Reflect - Quartz and Sterling Silver Necklace

Ice - Topaz, Pearl and Sterling Silver Necklace

As this cold continues...

A new listing still found its way to my shop (see below). Both ears are completely plugged now even though I use MediRinse faithfully, then steam and heat treat....but at least I don't feel crummy! How could I when tomorrow is Friday?! *happy dance* I love my weekends, love being able to sleep in if I want, lounge around in my pj's, read, watch a movie or two, snuggle with my furry loved ones, doing whatever makes me happy....I just love weekends!!

Terra Firma - Turquoise and Sterling Silver Necklace

Making Up

I was sick yesterday, still fighting this sinus stuff and I missed listing my item for Day 6 of the challenge. So today I listed 2 new items to make up for it :)

Ocean Tides - Amazonite and Sterling Silver Necklace

Goddess Grove - Labradorite, Petro Tourmaline, Aquamarine, Peridot Sterling Silver Necklace

Day 5

I think I have a sinus infection and it's getting the better of me...my mind can't function enough to come up with a witty title for this post, nor could I concentrate enough to edit photos for a new necklace so I decided to relist a bracelet that I used to carry in my shop for the April Challenge. See you tomorrow...hopefully I'll be feeling a bit better :)

Organic - Sterling Silver Cuff Bracelet

 

Aside From All The Rain

and having a cold that's all in my sinus', today was another great day. I made a big brunch for my boys before they left, watched The Blindside (great movie by the way), played with my camera (still so much to learn) and listed a 4th item for the April Challenge.

Spiral - Blue Chalcedony and Sterling Silver Necklace

Now I'm off to make lasagna and watch Sherlock Holmes....hate to see the weekend come to an end, but I can't complain, I had a blast with my kids!

Day Three!

My kids are home, the sun is shining (temporarily), and I'm sippin' on a mocha....nummy.... Life is good on all sorts of levels! Here's my newest addition to my shop for the April Challenge:

 Botanica - Sapphire, Vintage Glass, PMC and Sterling Silver Necklace

Day Two of April's Challenge

Again today was a toss up of which piece to list, as the sun broke through the showers this necklace won me over.

Demetra - Citrine, Garnet and Sterling Silver Necklace

New Listing

Here's my first listing for the April Challenge I mentioned previously! With so many pieces made and ready to be listed I really had a tough time figuring out which one I wanted to list first. I also noticed that the majority of my pieces are necklaces...hmmm...I need to make more bracelets and earrings. Heck by the time I'm done I'll probably have enough to list a new item each day for the next 3 months!! 

SOLEDAD - Blue Labradorite (Spectrolite) and Sterling Silver Necklace

Packaging Changes

I was finally able to get a picture of my new packaging to correlate the changes that I've made in my Etsy shop...yay for change!!

Spring

With my apple trees in bloom, and Spring being the time of growth, I'm happily embracing the creativity that seems so abundant right now. I've been hard at work in my studio on special requests for customers, friends/family and diligently making new pieces to list for April's Challenge (below). I can't wait to share my new creations with you, just 2 more days...stay tuned!

April Challenge

While reading the Etsy forums today, I found a post from another seller asking if anyone would like to join her in challenging ourselves to list a new item every day in the month of April. I have to say this couldn't have come at a better time, I've noticed that I've become a bit too complacent with relisting instead of finishing a new piece and listing it. I'm enthusiastically joining the challenge so next month should bring a bunch of new posts with some lovely new baubles! If you're an Etsy seller come join us and let your creative juices flow!

Time for Change

You may or may not have noticed but I've been making changes to the look of my Etsy shop and my packaging. It's been 2 years since my last design change and with the last design...though I was closer to the look I wanted...it still didn't convey it completely. I wanted it to be more me, by incorporating my jewelry and using one of my favorite colors...blue :)

I've recently had the pleasure of working with a wonderful designer, WinchesterLambourne on Etsy. Her shop states she's "Convo Friendly" and that couldn't be more true. She is a dream to work with, she has an eye for elegance and beauty plus an uncanny sense of what you want. You can see the majority of her stunning designs on Flikr.

She has designed my banner and my avatar, you can see them here and most recently designed my business cards (below), which I've just placed an order for at Overnight Prints.

I absolutely love the new look, and it wouldn't have been possible without the artistic eye of WinchesterLambourne ~Thank you Win!! This is definitely one of those times when change feels soooo good!