TREASURY MANIA!

Oh, what a treat! This morning I received 2 messages almost simultaneously that I'd been featured in an Etsy treasury. Not only, does this not happen very often, but two in one day? I should probably go out and buy a lottery ticket or something!

What is ironic is that there was a thread last week in the forums where I wrote that I hadn't been in many treasuries since redoing my shop to my more natural wood backgrounds since it seems that most items that are chosen have white backgrounds. I was also featured in one on Thursday. Thanks go to AuroraFedora, chrdesigns, and EarthlyCreations.

Raven's Nest: My "Fine Wine" Earrings in the top right hand corner.

Ladies, FROST yourselves!: My "Morning Frost" earrings in the bottom middle spot.


What goes AROUND comes AROUND: My "Ripples" necklace in the lower right hand corner.

Note for non-Etsy people who are wondering what all the fuss is about:
From the Storque: What is the Treasury?

The Treasury is a member-curated gallery of short-lived lists of 12 hand-picked items each. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whoever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. Admin often choose an exceptional Treasury list to promote to the the homepage hand-picked items.

In between the lines by Debora gleened from Treasury obsessed people:

1. It is difficult to even get your treasury posted because there is a specific window of time when they may be submitted.
2. There are so many talented artists on Etsy that your chances of getting in one are low.
3. You have to have fabulous photos.
4. And apparently it's just the absolute best thing in the world to be picked for the Front Page, but I wouldn't know about that (yet)!

Feel free to add your myths and insights into "TreasuryMania" below.

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Last week, I wrote about Spring being just around the corner and how we experience seasons in our lives. Yesterday, I was reminded that we still have a little more winter to go, when we woke up to this lovely snowfall. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures because the sky was such a gorgeous blue! God, I see your fingerprints all over your creation, even when we're a little tired of winter!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN EARRING CARDS

A while back I wrote a post called "How to Make an Earring Display". Afterwards, I received several requests to write a tutorial on making the actual earring cards. They are very straightforward and seem pretty intuitive but maybe some suggestions will help you with them.

I described the earring cards as "simply cards folded in half with holes punched in them:

And really that's all they are! But where to start?

Here's some details that might help:

1. Size before folding: 2" X 6.75".
   
2. Size after folding: 2"X 3.4"
   
3. Hole punch used: 1/16"

Here's what you need to get started:

1. Paper cutter: 11X17" size
   
2. Matte heavyweight paper or cardstock and a printer.
   
3. 1/16" hole punch
   
4. Computer program that utilizes "layers" like Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0.
   
5. You will also need to know HOW TO USE your program to create layers, add text, and copy and paste files into your layout.

STEPS:

1. In your progam create a file 2"X6.75"
   
2. Add your logo, text, and little dots for location of the holes. Merge all the layers and save as a jpg. You'll also want to save a layered version in case you need to make changes later.
   
3. Once you're happy with the design, copy and paste 5 of these onto an 8.5 X 11" file in the landscape orientation. Use the grid to align them so they are all even with each other, flush with the bottom of the page and 1/2" from the sides.
   
4. Merge all the layers and convert to a jpg. Remember to save a copy of the original layered copy just in case you need to change something.
   
5. Print on heavyweight paper. I use Epson double sided heavyweight paper on my Epson photo printer.
   
6. Cut the long side first using the ruler guide on the paper cutter. See picture below.
   
7. Then cut short sides. I aligned a wave along the bottom so all the need to do is cut right next to the wave.
   
8. Fold in half and punch the holes with the 1/16" punch. You may also use a thumb tack or pin but the hole punch gives a nice clean edge.
   

Now doesn't that look simple? The reason I use the folding cards is so they can easily be hung on my display and it's also very convenient for photographing. When I show my jewelry to live customers I can also discreetly write the price on the inside.

I hope you have fun making these and adding a professional touch to your jewelry! If you have any questions please contact me or you can ask it in the comment section below.

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

Well, I must not be very motivated today, as it's already 3pm and I still haven't written my post. I thought I'd better write about motivation to get myself inspired!

I love this photo I took many years ago when my sister and I took a cruise around the Greek Islands. Taken while still on the cruise ship, this is the island of Santorini and the mulititude of steps that lead up to the top. I don't remember the number of steps but it was alot! After all of the rich food we ate on the cruise ship, we decided to forgo the donkey ride and walk it ourselves. I was much younger then, but I remember with the hot sun it was quite the effort. Oh, but what a view from the top and the feeling of accomplishment we had that we would not have experienced if we had opted to take the ride!

Why am I writing about this today? Well, I just had my 75th sale in my Etsy shop on Saturday and I'm thinking about milestones . Sure, I've had more sales than that when I count RL sales (that stand for real life) but there is something about seeing that number there that kinda spurs you on! There is so much talk about this many and that many sales in such and such time. It's really not good to compare yourselves to others, but we all do it and it can be very discouraging. We must keep in mind that we all have different goals for ourselves, and let's face it, someone who sells lower priced items like soaps or cards is going to have a higher number faster than someone who makes jewelry or higher priced items. It took me almost 9 months to reach 50 sales, and and additional 2 months to reach 75 so I hope I'm on the right track!

I have a separate goal for this entire year, but now that I'm so close to my First Etsyversary (March 28th) I have a mini goal to reach 100 sales. Think I can do it? I guess I'll take it one sale at a time, just like we take one small step at a time to reach our goals. And if I don't reach it, I'll try for April 5th because that's when I listed my first item, Ha!

Here are some Monday quotes for you:

"Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps."
Saul Bellows

"Four steps to achievement:
Plan purposefully
Prepare prayerfully
Proceed positively
Pursue persistently"
William Arthur Ward

How are you doing on your goals?

Oh, and if you'd like to help me reach my goal, click here to go to my shop Beadin' By The Sea!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

I snapped this photo of daffodils coming up yesterday, and took it as a comforting sign that Spring is on its way. I thought I would post it on my blog with a title like "I CAN'T WAIT TO WEAR SHORT SLEEVES AGAIN" but since finding Pampering Beki's blog. I've wanted to join in the the Fingerprint Friday series. So I'll take on a more serious note for today. I'll have to save the short sleeve topic for another post!

These bulbs emerging from the ground remind me that lifes journey is a series of seasons. Just as God chose for the earth to experience these changes, our lives do too. I was further reminded of this, last week as a friend is going through a very difficult time. We are praying for her and hoping for a miracle, but we know that this too "shall pass".

Here's a very well known scripture about seasons in Ecclesiastes 3:

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WEDNESDAY

Well, my giveaway contest is over and my Modern Simplicity earrings are on their way to Malaysia to the lucky winner, BunnyB. I will have another contest/giveaway soon, but I need to regroup and decide what the next prize will be so check back next week for more details.

If you were stumped with last week's photo it was taken in a little town called Leavenworth, Washington. Many of you guessed (incorrectly) that is was in the Netherlands, but you'll notice there is a little American flag in the background. In the early 1960's, the leaders got together and decided to rejuvenate this dying town and remodel it completely in the form of a Bavarian village. As you stroll down the streets you'll swear you've been transplanted somewhere in Europe! Now it is a popular tourist destination year round in the heart of the Cascades. If you'd like to read more about it's fascinating history click here.

Here's my Where in the World Photo #5: (clears throat) attention UK people!

Take a wild guess where this beautiful spot is!

COMPUTERS AND KNITTING

What do YOU do with those little warning signs that come from your computer saying that you should update so and so.. and they are critical!?

Well, I've been ignoring them for a long time, so this morning I thought I'd be good and finally update them. Now, I know why I don't bother, because my computer was running just fine before I uploaded them! Every time I upload either a Windows or an HP Health check update my computer totally locks up. Yes, I'm beyond frustrated and had to restore my computer 4 times this morning. Aargh!

You wonder how knitting fits into all of this? Well, I really got a lot of knitting done while babysitting my computer (watching for the little arrow to stop moving actually). I find knitting so relaxing, so it was a great way to pass the time while still being able to keep an eye on my laptop and make some progress doing SOMETHING.

And now I'm going to quit the updates, because I'm no further ahead getting all those little warning signs off my computer but, wow, I sure got lots of knitting done!

Since it's Monday and President's Day, here's my Motivational Monday quote from Abraham Lincoln:

"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today"

Oh, very wise advice which I think I will heed. I'm CANNOT get my computer fixed today, I think I'll leave it till tomorrow and more importantly find a computer guru to look at it!

Have a great Monday!

NOTE: As you can see, I like digital scrapbooking. I got this digital paper from ScrapGirls.com.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Thanks so much for all your responses to my "Where in the World Contest and Giveaway"! At first I thought my first contest might be a flop, but thanks to Etsygiveaways, I ended up with 56 comments in all. I thought it appropriate to draw the name out of a cute felted bowl that I just bought from a fellow Etsy seller ColAreto. I love my new bowl, you should check out this gal's shop, really adorable stuff. My son drew the name for me so it would be totally impartial.

So, without further adieu.... the winner is Bunny B! Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address to send you your free earrings!

To recap the photos here they are with the locations:

Stay tuned, as I will be having another giveaway soon as this was so much fun. Oh, and Happy Valentines Day to you, thanks again for visiting my blog and all your comments!

The Beauty in SIMPLE

A couple of weeks back I shared about my venture into fusing fine silver wire. I'm happy to say that I'm continuing to have loads of fun with it.

I'm also learning that there is a lot of beauty in keeping things simple. With this economy, I am noticing that a lot of my sales lately have been simple, classic pieces with clean lines, something that can be worn for so many occasions.

I love the look of shiny silver simply on its own and how hammering the metal gives it hundreds of tiny facets that reflect the light. Here's my latest, I've sold 2 of these to friends this week and added one to my shop today. The rings remind of ripples of water that emanate from a pebble tossed in a lake so I called it "Ripples".

I'm also finding as I work with the these thicker gauges of wire that my flush cutters are just not "cutting" it, sorry for the pun! There are a pair of Tronex cutters that Liz Jones, the author of "Fine Silver Fusing" recommends. Unfortunately, they are about $60, but I'm getting to the point where I think they will make my life a lot easier and cause me to waste less wire. Getting a really clean flush cut is so critical to getting the fine silver to "fuse" or flow together at the join. This necklace has 4 rings that are fused, including the smallest one; you work your way from the smallest to the largest.

Well, now, I'm getting too technical! I simply wanted to share my latest creation.

Oh, and I also wanted to remind you that I'm drawing a name tomorrow for my "Where in the World Giveaway contest". To enter click here.

Have a great day, and may you find beauty and peace in the simple things!

WHERE IN THE WORLD PHOTO #4...and GIVEAWAY CONTEST

Here's my cat Ace, looking out the window once again wondering where in the world I'm going to take you this week for my giveaway contest! There are only a few days left to enter before I draw a name on Valentines Day February 14th. I guess last week's photo was a little harder than I thought. Bunny B was the closest guess with Parikia, Greece. The windmill threw many of your off, but it was taken on the island of Mykonos in Greece. I took a wonderful cruise around the Mediterranean Sea a number of years ago.
Can you take a wild guess where Where in the World Photo #4 was taken?

Here's the contest rules to win my Argentium Sterling silver "Modern Simplicity" earrings shown to your right from my shop Beadin By The Sea :

1. Leave your name and email address or a link to your blog along with a wild guess of where the "Where in the world" photo was taken. You don't have to be correct to win! Click on "comments" at the bottom of this post to see the comment box.

2. Come back on Valentine's Day, February 14th to see if you've won. You will have 3 days to claim your prize.

Keep those guesses coming and don't be afraid to take a stab at it. I'm enjoying all the comments and speculation and I can't wait to give someone some free earrings!

Click here to go to last weeks Photo #3.

EASY WIRE EARRING DISPLAY

I wasn't going to blog today, but I made these little earring displays using instructions from the Etsymetalclay blog and I had to share. I came across the post last month and knew right away I wanted to try it, but I could never find the 14 gauge wire recommended. I found this 16 gauge wire at JoAnn's yesterday for $3.00 which made 2 stands. Remember the lower the number on the wire gauge the thicker it is. Inexpensive and cute!

Click on the link below for the instructions on the Etsy Metal Clay Blog written by Catherine Witherall of HappyDayArt:

http://etsymetalclay.blogspot.com/2008/12/holiday-sale-preparations.html

Thanks Catherine for a great idea! I'm ready to try it with 14 gauge wire in different colors when I find it!

THE MASTER PAINTER

I took this picture last week of the sun coming up through the trees behind our house. I was in awe of the gorgeous colors and I thought, "God, You are an incredible painter!"

Then... yesterday at church we sang this song and it brought this photo to my mind:

Faintly You surround me

Faintly You surround me

Faintly You surround me

And I feel your touch

And I feel your touch

The wind in the trees softly whispers

Wind in the tree softly whispers

Wind in the trees softly whispers

And I hear Your voice

And I hear Your voice

And I worship You oh Lord my God

And I worship You oh Lord my God

And I worship You oh Lord my God

“Faintly”
Words and music by John Barnett©1995 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

PS. I still don't know what it is about Monday and my blog. I'll have to start calling it "Motivational Monday" as I always need a little push to get started with my week! How about you?

HAPPY SATURDAY!

Here's Ace hoping you got a little more shut-eye this morning! Have a great weekend all.

COMPARISON OF RING SIZING CHARTS

Do you know what your ring size is? I hadn't given it much thought since picking out my wedding ring years ago. I don't wear a lot of rings, but lately I've become very interested in making them for my online shops using PMC (precious metal clay) and fine silver. In my effort to make choosing a size as easy as possible for customers, I thought I would come up with a simple chart that I could reference to custom fit their rings.

I had no idea this was going to be such a confusing task. I've looked all over the internet for information and found that many of the charts out there are all over the map! To investigate this further, I also visited a professional jeweller at our local fine jewelry shop to compare the sizes on my rings and see if it matched the ring mandrel I just purchased.

Here is a chart I came up with that represents the most consistent numbers:

Here are the most common methods to determine ring size:

CIRCUMFERENCE METHOD (If you don't have a ring to reference)
1. Cut a narrow strip of paper 1/4" wide by 5" long.
2. Wrap it snugly around your finger. Use a pencil to draw a line where the ends overlap.
3. Find the closest measurement (in MM) on the sizing chart. This is the circumference of your finger.

EXISTING RING DIAMETER METHOD (More accurate)
1. Find a ring that fits your finger comfortably.
2. Take an accurate metal ruler and measure the inside diameter in MM.
3. Compare to the chart above.

SOME POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND:

1. If your knuckle is a lot larger than the base of the finger, measure both sizes and select a size in between.
2. If you're buying a wide band, you will probably need a size larger for a comfortable fit.
3. Your fingers are usually larger on your dominant hand, up to a full size.
4. The average woman's finger is size 6. The average man's finger is size 10.
5. Your fingers change size during the day, depending on your diet and may even be larger in summer when temps are higher or if you live in a humid climate.
6. If you can, get help with measuring for better accuracy.
7. Visit your local jeweller and they will be happy to help you try on ring sizers to get the most accurate reading.

Hopefully this will help you feel more comfortable buying rings online. Make sure to check the chart on each website you may be purchasing from because the numbers do vary. It certainly was a good exercise for me to make sense of all the charts out there and to try to come up with one for my shop.

I have to give credit to these sites for my research: Amazon.com, Bluenile.com and Zales.com.

Each of these sites have a page dedicated to determining your ring size.

WHERE IN THE WORLD PHOTO #3...and GIVEAWAY CONTEST

Here's my cat Ace again, looking out the window and wondering where in the world I'm going to take you this week for my giveaway contest! I submitted last week's blog post to EtsyGiveaways blog which really increased it's exposure, so I'm sorry but I'm going to have to wait until the contest is over on February 14th to let you know exactly where the waterfall is. I'll give you a hint though, I took the picture during a helicopter ride, and it is in the United States. This week, I think the photo is very easy! It's a pretty well known landmark. Can you take a wild guess where Where in the World Photo #3 was taken?

Where in the World Photo #3:


Let's go over the contest rules to win my Argentium Sterling silver "Modern Simplicity" earrings shown to your right from my shop Beadin By The Sea :
1. Leave your name and email address or a link to your blog along with a wild guess of where the "Where in the world" photo was taken. You don't have to be correct to win! Click on "comments" at the bottom of this post to see the comment box.

2. Come back on Valentine's Day, February 14th to see if you've won. You will have 3 days to claim your prize.

Keep those guesses coming and don't be afraid to take a stab at it. I'm enjoying all the comments and speculation and I can't wait to give someone some free earrings!

Click here to go to last weeks Photo #2.

MY FIRST PMC RING

After making a ring last week from 14 Gauge fine silver wire, I started to wonder about making a ring from PMC. I thought this would allow the ring to have some weight to it and perhaps a stamped design. This weekend I tried something new... again!

Because it's so neat to see the ring in it's raw clay state, the picture on the left is the ring before firing and the pictures below are taken after firing, patinizing with liver of sulphur and polish. What do you think?

This was a great exercise in my skill with PMC and it did present a few challenges:


Challenge #1: Perfecting the Seam

I was going to show you my first ring I made from PMC but actually this is my second. The first one never made it to the firing stage because it split and broke where I joined the seam in the band. No worries though, with PMC there is no waste at this stage because the clay can be crushed, rehydrated and used again. So this is actually my second attempt and I still need to perfect the join before I can even consider selling them! Another minor issue, is figuring out how to recreate the stamped surface over the join area. I'm not sure if I'm being too picky, maybe it can never be totally invisible.

Challenge #2: Correct Sizing:
The second challenge with PMC rings is getting the sizing correct. The clay shrinks about 12% during firing so you have to account for this. My ring ended up being just a little too big for me. I think it's about a size 7. I may have to find a friend who wants a new ring, but I'll wear this one for a while to test its strength.

Challenge #3 YOUR Ring Size:
I wonder how many people actually know their ring size? I don't often wear rings except the one on my wedding finger, so I don't even remember what size it is, never mind my right hand which is a little bigger. It makes me wonder how many people won't buy a ring unless they can try it on. Now this challenge can be solved quite easily by giving you a link to an article to figure it out in, How to Determine Your Ring Size. There are also shops that send you a plastic ring sizer for a small charge to try on before making the purchase, good idea!

Challenge #4 Considering Cost:
As usual, I'll have to consider the high cost of PMC. This ring is 5 grams of silver before firing so it has some weight to it. That's not so bad, if you create a perfect ring on your first try! What if I make a ring for a customer and I have to make 2 or 3 to get the right size because of shrinkage and... what if they measured their size wrong?

As you can see, I have some reservations about pursuing the ring making business. But of course this is why we try things isn't it? I love to learn by doing and trial and error. I'll definitely be experimenting some more to see if this can be a viable option for my shop.

I'll leave you with another quote:(don't know what it is about Monday and quotes!)

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.
Sir Winston Churchill

By the way, don't forget to enter my giveaway here or come back on Wednesday to guess the location of another "Where in the world" photo. I have lots of entries so far, but keep those guesses coming. I love to read all of them!