Ever get all these really kewl new ideas for new jewelry designs and don’t know where to start?? That’s exactly how I feel right now. I also think there isn’t enough time in a day to do everything you want to do!!! Especially when you’ve got kids! oh and soccer, gymanstics, figure skating, ballet…. mmmm did I miss something? hehehe.

Sometimes I wonder where all the mothers get the time to do anything, and EVERYTHING!!! and I wonder if maybe, I might be doing something wrong?

So I’ve finally gotten a moment now, and realized I haven’t posted in my blog for some time! OOooops!

Enough about that.

I’ve been looking into some kewl new toys… errrr tools and besides finiding out how EXPENSIVE they are, I’ve been looking for some sort of alternatives. I wish someone had told me how expensive this handmade jewelry “hobby” could become!!! if anyone has any tips and tricks they’d like to share please comment!!!

If I find anything worthwhile I’ll be sure to share!!!

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So, when I started working with wire in my handmade jewelry, I would make small spirals components and such, I’d really scuff it up. It drove me nuts! So, what to do, to keep that pristine unmarred shine on your sterling silver? Something I like to use is called “Tool Magic” the one I have is blue (I’ve seen some in clear). What it basically is, is liquid plastic. (Affordable too!) I’ve go to tell you, it works wonders on my wire!! When I make my handmade jewelry there isn’t a scratch! The downside is that it takes 2-3 hours to dry. When you first coat it, it looks a little puffy, but when it’s dry, it really hugs your jewelry tool. It also starts getting a little difficult to coat your jewelry tools properly after the blue goo is half gone. But, yes I still love it!

I’ve also recently tried to use masking tape on my flat nosed pliers (sounded a lot faster and cheaper thing to do). I anticipated some sticky gook to come off from the tape, so I used an old pair of flat nosed pliers. I have one word to say… HORRIBLE!!! Don’t waste your time carefully wrapping the masking tape, because it’s a waste!! Then, I had to spend all this time trying to take the sticky stuff from the tape off of my pliers. What a waste of time! Have I mentioned it was a waste of my time?!!

Here is another option,(so I’ve heard thru the grapevine) I guess expensive pliers won’t mar the wire! When I get some, I’ll follow up, make some handmade jewelry and let you know!

I’ve also got some nylon jaws. They’re great to straighten wire and flatten small designs, but they don’t grip the wire very well when I am trying to shape it!

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I’ve been working on some new necklaces, because.. well I’ve got a million earrings, I’ve been a little nervous about it, just because, I’m not a necklace making person! But then that was true about earrings! I love to wear them (necklaces) thought! So I thought I would start with pendants and made a cute little peapod necklace using 7mm green freshwater pearls. I also tried 8mm white freshwater pearls I think both turned out very nicely. Check out the green one!

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I’m excited about this post, and hope you’ll enjoy it! I love to meet artists of all kinds, (love to hear the stories about the person behind the art) and I recently met a very talented one! Pineapplepinks! She was gracious enough to take the time to tell me a little something about herself. This is what she had to say!

“I basically like making hand stitches stuff from scratch in particular chokers that are a bit romantic or exotic looking with beads and old clasps. I’m a fiend for pink log cabin items too. I also make earrings using very gorgeous quality components like yours!.

I used to be a primary school teacher until last Xmas but now I work in admin in the cardiff school of art and design at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff. I am 42 and Aquarian (5th Feeb 66). Love dogs. Lived in Spain for a year teaching English and lived in France for a year cleaning tents and caravans and studying linguistics.

I have no kiddies. My ideal set up would be a small holding in the semi rural country with a lot of Huskies and Jack Russell Terriers. I’d like to offer rescue to dogs too.

I like drawing from my mind. I am also eastwitching on Etsy.

I love beauty and want the best for everyone and share and am eternally patient with anyone learning anything as my private Spanish pupils will attest to!! ha ha

I must also add that I love collecting very pretty and unusual beads and then randomly grabbing a handful with my eys shut and then seeing what I have to work with. I do the same thing with my paintings and color selecting. It’s amazing what you have to do if you are doing a portrait and the colors you just randomly picked are olive green palest lavender and naples yellow.”

Pineapplepinks has a cute little shop you can visit @:

http://pineapplepinks.etsy.com

there is a little something of everything. From jewelry to drawings, check her out!

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I’ve mentioned my new finidings store, well, I thought I would let you all check out my newest item:

It’s a little kit, which has everything you need to make 1 pair of wire wrapped garnet earrings. All you need is a pair of wire cutters or OLD scissors (cutting wire with scissors will ruin them so don’t use your best pair!) your imagination and a little patience.

Betty Brite

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I personally think buisness cards are a great asset to selling your handmade jewelry, have some made!! Even if you have to design them yourself, do it! I currently use Adobe Photoshop for all of my design needs. I love it! But, to be honest I haven’t tried any other programs. I know they are out there! So look around! Or look around the net, there are some talented graphic design artists who offer great prices.

When you’ve got something you like together, call around to some different print agencies and have them give you a quote. Then, choose your favorite place and voila!

Hand out your fantabulous cards to everyone! and be sure to include a couple (so your customers can hand them out to friends, or have an extra if they misplace one) with every handmade jewelry order you get. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, and with a card in their hand to remind them where they got this gorgeous peice of handmade jewelry you should get more return customers!

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I recently got an e-mail asking which guage of wire I used to wire wrap my handmade jewelry. I use several wire guages to wire wrap my gemstone beads, but my favorite has to be 22 guage dead soft. It just molds around the bead perfectly when I am wire wrapping. If you are new to this, and afraid of ruining some sterling silver or gold filled, try practicing with the cheap stuff first, and most importantly… TAKE YOUR TIME….practice does make perfect. I look at some of my earlier wire wrapping jobs and think… Ewww… that’s pretty bad. For smaller beads, I like to use 24 guage dead soft (for daintier work it works better because the guage is smaller it’s easier to work with). Same this applies, take your time!

Wire wrapping doesn’t always go your way, once you get seasoned, you’ll know after a couple of wire wraps if it’s going to look crappy. When that happens I usually unravel what I’ve wire wrapped and start over. It can become a HUGE waste of wire reusing and unravelling. That’s when…STEP AWAY FROM THE BEAD… comes in!

So Good Luck and..

HAPPY WIRE WRAPPING!!!!

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I’ve been contemplating this for a few months now and finally decided to go ahead and make some sterling silver and 14k gold filled finidings!

It’s been a slow process because I’m devoted to my handmade jewelry. It has been very fun tho. I am also going to be selling sterling silver wire and 14k gold filled wire in small quantities for those who would like to experiment with sterling silver or 14k gold filled wire.

If you would like any of your sterling silver oxidized, I can do that free of charge for you!

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It’s hard work! But don’t let it scare you! If you are determined to design your handmade jewelry site from top to bottom, and aren’t sure where to start, I would suggest learning a little bit of HTML, I find it to be fairly easy and there are some great resources on the web to help get you started! You don’t need any fancy programs, just a desire to learn a new “language”. Yes, it is a lot of hard work, but well worth it! You get a fantastic handmade jewelry site! Blogs may be a little easier. The hardest part is choosing a layout!

I could write so much more on the subject but I would b here all day! I know how hard it can be trying to get a buisiness off the ground and being a stay at home mom at the same time! Where does the time go???

In the meantime, I have been adding new items to my online handmade jewelry store PERFECTIONS where I offer free shipping! (Plus I have more variety!) Just a perk because I bypass all of the small fees having an online store hosted by other websites.

Or you can also check out my Etsy shop:

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When I first started getting serious about making jewelry, I really didn’t know where to start. I hadn’t found my niche yet. I think I bought about a dozen “How To Make Your Own Handmade Jewerly books” In all honesty, I didn’t really learn very much from them. My best lessons about beads, techniques, wire, gemstones ect… were when I worked at a bead shop. For myself, hands on is always the best for me. I just find it easier on the wallet going to the book store for a couple of hours and looking at the jewelry books for tips, tricks, and ideas. If you do find that one book that has more than ONE thing you absolutely love then get it!

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