Beadin By The Sea

HANDMADE FELTED BOWL SHOP is live!

2011-10-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

One month ago today, I opened my second shop on Etsy called deboraBstudio.

My jewelry shop BeadinByTheSea has been open for 3.5 years and now with over 1200 sales, I am feeling inspired to expand my horizons. Oh, my jewelry shop is still my first love, but I love knitting too!

While making silver jewelry involves loud hammering, toxic chemicals, messy hands due to polishing, hot torches and trying to see tiny details with my 40-plus eyes, knitting can be a welcome break as I relax in the chair, knitting needles in hand with soft, vibrant colored yarn. The most stressful part of knitting is trying to keep my cat Ace from running off with my project!

My mother taught me how to knit when I was a little girl, and I've been knitting projects on and off my entire life. Recently I have become fascinated with the process of felting. Something magical happens when a knitted piece of fabric that resembles a hat comes out of the washing machine looking like a sturdy bowl!

You can check out my shop by clicking here. I absolutely love these little bowls and think that everyone could find a use for one. They are the perfect solution for any odds and ends that you need to put away around the house. I have one on my bedside table to store hair clips and my husband has one for his loose change. They are great for rubber bands, paper clips, you name it... and they won't scratch your furniture.

I was encouraged to have my first sale within a couple of weeks and I have been included in so many lovely treasuries. I've also had the privilege of being on Etsy's home page twice. I think my bowls are popular for treasuries because of their vivid colors and they are just so darn cute!

So please check out deboraBstudio. To celebrate my opening, I am offering a 10% discount on all purchases.

Just type in NEWSHOP10OFF in the coupon code when checking out. This offer is valid until November 20th, 2011. Just in time to get a jump start on your Christmas shopping.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you check out my shop!

Hello there, it's been awhile...

2011-09-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Well, here it has been almost a full year since I've posted on my blog. How sad is that? The truth is that since I started a Facebook page for my Beadin by' the Sea shop, I have taken the easy way out and I tend to post my latest news there. You can find me on Facebook by clicking here.

As you can see, my cat Ace has been up to his usual antics, being in places where he's not supposed to be! I've been keeping myself busy with my jewelry shop, volunteering as the Editor of our High School Newsletter, participating in church activities and generally being a busy Mom-of-a- teenager!

I'm also working on starting another shop on Etsy. Stay tuned and I'll let you know when it's up and running!

I also wanted to let you know that I am hosting a giveaway of this beautiful fall inspired acorn necklace. Here is the link:
http://etsydreamteam.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveaway-beadinbythesea.html

I can't imagine who wouldn't want to own one of these necklaces! They also make great gifts for your nature-lover friends. The link to the item in my shop is here or just click on the photo. Good luck, and make sure you complete all three of the items in the mandatory entry to make your entry count!

Have a fantastic Monday!
Debora XO

Back for an Artbeads Review.... Colors of Fall

2010-11-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Once again, Artbeads has invited me to do a review of products on their website: Artbeads.com and I was very happy to oblige! I have ordered supplies for my own personal jewelry making and my business Beadin' By the Sea for many years and have always been very happy with their products and their wonderful customer service. I also have the added benefit of being in the same state (WA) and I receive my order very quickly; usually the next day after they ship. The theme for this review is the "Colors of Fall". I was encouraged to use Pantone's Fall Color Report for 2010. Here is the link to view it online:
http://www.pantone.com/images/pages/20710/2010-02/index.html

The traditional colors of Fall; warm browns, reds, russets and golds, remind us of the glorious displays we see in nature as the temperatures cool. I have been using more brass elements in my jewelry lately and paired with Swarovski pearls from Artbeads, this metal just seems to capture the feel of Fall with a vintage vibe. I also love working with the pearls from Swarovski. They are so reasonably priced, they have a gorgeous luster, are perfectly round and they are weighty just like the real ones (without the price or care needed in cleaning).

Although Artbeads does not carry these exact bead caps used in these "acorn necklaces", they do carry a large variety of brass findings and chains that are perfect for Fall themed jewelry.

The antique brass filigree components that I used in these vintage-style earrings (below) are available at Artbeads. I was very impressed with the detail and quality of these findings; just beautiful paired with Swarovski pearls in light gold and lever back ear wires.

I found this page inspiring by BabyPhat in the Pantone Fall 2010 Color Report. I have always been fond of the color purple and I was inspired to combine Amethyst Swarovski crystals and gunmetal components in this necklace. This one is for me, but I also received some of the Swarovski teardrops in Siam AB ( a gorgeous dark red) that I plan on using for a similiar necklace, perhaps to list on my website.

Here is a better photo that shows how this necklace drapes. I actually started to make this necklace using oxidized sterling silver chain but I found that I needed something that had some weight to it, as the "swags" tend to get tangled up with a very lightweight chain. I changed the entire design to gunmetal after running into this little problem and consequently spent way too much time on this design. Hopefully the next one will be easier!

Well, that's all I have for now. I need to submit this article before this Fall season turns to winter! Please be sure to check out Artbeads for their great prices and awesome selection of jewelry making supplies!

FTC disclaimer: I have received these products free of charge from Artbeads.com . I am honestly reviewing the products and have not been paid for this endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

The Real Deal... Hawaiian Petroglyphs

2010-07-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

I am back from vacation... oh, you didn't know I was gone? Yes, our family took some much needed down time and went to Maui for 10 days. It was the first time since starting my jewelry business that I put my Etsy shop, Beadin By the Sea, in vacation mode, and it was absolutely glorious to do nothing but read books, explore the island and best of all, enjoy swimming in the beautiful warm Pacific Ocean.

It didn't take me long, however, to start thinking about my jewelry. While looking at the rental car map of Maui, I noticed a couple words that caught my attention- Olowalu petroglyphs, and I knew I had to go see them. These are drawings done by the ancient Hawaiians by carving into rock. The word comes from the greek words, "petros" for rock, and "glyphein" to carve.

Some of you may have seen my pendants made from precious metal clay that are engraved with an image of a Hawaiian petroglyph. I began making these when my son requested a necklace of the paddler (photo above) that was on a baseball cap we bought in Kauai. I then listed one in my shop and since then I have had requests for custom pendants- mostly the kukini runner (on right), but I've also done the paddler again and the surfer (below).

The largest concentration of petroglyphs can be found on the Big Island and they are estimated to be about 300 years old. The drawings on Maui have been hand carved into the face of Kilea, a volcanic cinder cone in the v-shaped Olowalu Valley.

Sadly, it looks like this ancient site is suffering from neglect and vandalism. A once helpful staircase in now broken and one must circumnavigate the rocks to get a closer look. There are also signs of amateur graffiti mimicking the genuine petroglyphs so one doesn't know which ones are indeed "ancient" - although it's fairly easy to tell. It's definitely not one of the main attractions of the island but we saw several couples make the 1/2 mile trek each way to view them. It is inland and much hotter without the ocean breezes so we found ourselves at Olowalu General store (at the 15 mile marker) afterward for some refreshment. If you go there you must try their Hawaiian shaved ice done the old fashioned way. My husband and son will testify that they are the best they've ever had!

Aloha, and until I have something else to say...
Have a great day!
Debora

Waiting for Summer...

2010-06-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

With one week left before school's out here in the Pacific Northwest, we are not seeing many signs that summer is near. Sure the flowers are blooming, the days are getting longer and the birds are singing but we have been getting a rather large dose of rain and chilly temperatures this May and June. We do get the occasional sun break to tease us that summer is coming but it's been pretty short lived.

I think this picture of my cat Ace illustrates it well. When the sun shines here in Washington state we make darn sure that we bask and revel in it, even if it's just for a fleeting moment!

... may you have sunshine this weekend!
~Debora

Czech glass & a little bird.. an ARTBEADS REVIEW

2010-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Here I am for another Artbeads.com review. This time, I was asked to select some beads from their glass bead products and pendants. I opted to spend the bulk of my "allowance" on the sweet little sterling and resin bird pendant you see pictured above. With the warmer weather approaching, I thought it would be the the perfect accent for a summer necklace (for me!). I also ordered some czech glass rondelle beads in various sizes and colors.

Here are a few more detailed photos of the necklace. I paired the off-white pendant with a mix of brown and off white owyhee jasper beads from my bead stash and interspersed them with blue opalite czech glass from Artbeads. I was originally going to use all glass, but I needed something to tie in the white from the pendant- also the beads I ordered just seemed a little too large except for the 5X4mm czech glass roundelles which were perfect.

In an attempt to go for a natural look, I used Griffin silk cord (also available from Artbeads) and created a floating bead design with knots. I'll just say that this technique is harder than it looks! It's the first time I've tried it and I definitely have a new appreciation for those who make knotted necklaces!

The larger beads are perfect as an earring accent especially when paired with fine silver charms made from PMC. Artbeads also has a wide variety of beautiful sterling silver charms that can be used in place of my handmade components. Below are some earrings that I made with 5X7 mm Czech glass rondelle beads in turquoise. I just love this color!

One more pair: These use the opalite blue/purple beads that I used in the bird necklace with more pmc components. The glass beads I chose have the "Picasso" finish, meaning that the ends are a different color that the middle of the beads. It really gives the glass interest and a more rustic look. I opted to oxidize all of my components with liver of sulphur and rubbed them for a soft antique finish.
Well, I hope you are inspired to try out Artbeads.com. I have found their customer service, prices and quality of products to be outstanding, and I often shop at their website for products for my jewelry business Beadin By the Sea.

And until I have something else to say...
Have a great day!
~Debora

FTC disclaimer: I have received these products free of charge from Artbeads.com . I am honestly reviewing the products and have not been paid for this endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

ORDERING CUSTOM JEWELRY

2010-05-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last post! As the byline on this blog says, "I might have something to say" and more often than not, I really don't! I'm the type that prefers to keep to myself and sit in the background, listening but not talking much.

I'm not sure why, but I've been getting more custom jewelry requests lately. For me, it is both exciting and scary- exciting and flattering that someone thinks that I am able to do the work they have in mind and scary because sometimes their suggestions are so vague and I must come up with the idea. This is when being a mind reader would really come in handy!

Normally I require to have full payment before I begin work, but sometimes, when I'm not sure I can even fulfill the request, I am inspired to try it out on my own first. I feel less pressure this way- knowing that it MUST turn out when they've already paid can stifle my creativity.

Below is a photo of 2 necklaces I made because I wasn't sure what the customer wanted. She ended up buying one of them. Both turned out beautifully and now I have another new item for my shop! The one on the left is made from fine silver wire and the cross on the right is made from precious metal clay and hammered after firing.

With a little experience under my belt, I thought I'd share a few thoughts/tips for custom orders for a customer which you can easily adapt if you are the seller.

1. Be as detailed as possible. We need adjectives like large, small, delicate, bold, dainty, rustic, smooth, shiny, matte, etc. Having the actual dimensions is ideal.

2. Support your idea with sketches or photos of a similar piece for comparison.

3. Don't ask a seller to copy someone else's work. Just go to the original artist and purchase it.

4. Expect to pay the full amount or at least give half for deposit before work is completed. Also expect to pay a little more than a ready made item as it takes us time to research and/or buy materials needed for the project. We may even need to educate ourselves on a new technique or buy a new tool. Be upfront, with the amount of money you are willing to spend.

6. Answer emails that contain questions in a timely manner. That way you will get your order quicker too.

5. In general try to convey your ideas as clearly as possible for the artist. We cannot read your mind and you will be much happier with the result if communication is open.

The beauty of custom work and dealing directly with the artist is being able to have an original design made to your specifications and it's also very inspiring for the artist!

and until the next time I have "something" to say...
Have a great day!
Debora

NOTE: The first photo is custom order order pendant made from metal clay. A customer supplied me with a photo of a Hawaiian petroglyph which I drew on the clay, engraved with a lino cutter, finished and fired.

I'M CELEBRATING....

2010-03-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

two years on Etsy, which happens to be 2 years from starting my handmade jewelry business. I also have shops on 1000 Markets and ArtFire now, but Etsy holds a special place in my heart, because it was here into which I stumbled, and realized after being creative my whole life, that there was a place that I could sell my wares to a worldwide marketplace. Despite its flaws (which most of you Etsy sellers know about) it brings in the most traffic and generates the most sales for me.

I really got off to a snail's pace start and reached 100 sales by March 2009 when I celebrated my first year. I remember my goal was to reach 300 sales by my 2nd anniversary and I'm so happy to say that it is now well over 400. My greatest wish is that it continues to grow and I am able to channel my creative energy by doing something that I love to do!

Many thanks to all of my customers, new and returning, blog readers, family and friends who have supported and encouraged me. It's been a fun ride and I can't wait to see where it goes in the coming year.

To celebrate, I am offering free shipping to those that write "celebrate2" in the notes to seller when checking out with a purchase over $10 from my Etsy shop from March 28th through March 31, 2010. I will refund the savings promptly through Paypal. This offer is for US and Canadian customers only.

Once again, thanks so much for your support, now I'm going to see if I can find me some cake!

WORKIN' AWAY...

2010-03-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

and obviously not blogging. I can't believe I haven't written for over a month!

I do have a good excuse though and that is that my Etsy shop has been quite busy! I've been coming up with new designs and keeping up with orders. I've had a lull for the last few days (which feels sort of strange) so I thought I'd take the time to drop in and say "hello" and show you some new items I've added to my shop. I've also had a few crafty projects going; like sewing a formal gown for a dinner we attended and making curtains for our downstairs media room, as well as the usual everyday stuff associated with having a teenager!

In the above photo, you'll see some new pieces that are created with metal clay. What I love about this medium is being able to impress patterns and designs directly into the silver clay in it's "wet stage". I just ordered a few more decorative stamps and can't wait to see how they come out. My familiar "organic hoop earrings" are included in there too, because I have made so many of these in the past few months! They are what I call my "bread and butter"; the tried and true favorites of every woman's jewelry box! They seem to do very well in my shop and allow me the funds to expand and buy more tools and supplies.

I also can't believe that I will be having my 2 year " Etsyversary" this Sunday, March 28th. It has been such a treat to be able to do something I love and send my jewelry to different parts of the globe. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to celebrate but I'll think of something and get it posted soon.

Meanwhile, enjoy the beginnings of Spring, longer days and so much more color around us to brighten our spirits!

GO FOR SILVER... an Artbeads Product Review

2010-02-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

Recently, I was asked by Artbeads.com to review some of their silver products from their website store. Again, I was delighted, as I already purchase many of my silver findings, beads, and chain there to create designs for my jewelry shop Beadin By The Sea.

With the opening ceremonies beginning this evening for the 2010 Winter Olympics, in my hometown Vancouver BC, I know that everyone is focusing on gold, but clearly it is silver that seems to be the metal of choice right now for jewelry wearers.

Here are some of the jewelry pieces that I created using sterling silver from their website:

The following 3 photos show earrings using an 8mm round link sterling silver chain found on Artbeads.com. This is a rather light gauge chain that I felt was a little too delicate for necklaces, but just right to make lightweight earrings. I used ball headpins and wire wrapped silver mirror beads (pic.1), amethyst rondelles (pic.2) and more twist silver beads (pic.3.) in between the links. I was able to make 3 pairs from 1 foot of the silver chain. You can find a large variety of sterling silver beads on Artbeads from plain to very fancy.

The earrings below are made with my own metal clay component and accented with ribbed barrel beads from Artbeads. Another example of the wide variety of silver beads that they carry.

Another chain I received was a foot of oval link sterling silver chain. This one is much heavier and more robust, just perfect to complete a new bracelet with a decorative oval toggle clasp made from metal clay.

Okay are you inspired now? For further inspiration and ideas check out Artbeads.com yourself. And... it looks like they are having a sale this weekend for President's Day! If you are interested in finished jewelry please check out my shops on either Etsy or ArtFire.

FTC disclaimer: I have received these products free of charge from Artbeads.com . I am honestly reviewing the products and have not been paid for this endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

INVENTORY INSPIRATION

2010-01-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

Swingtime... in Purple Velvet and Violet Satin... $27.00

Inventory is done and I have to admit that I have more beads than I thought! Surprise, surprise. I think I'm going to go on a bead buying freeze until I use some of this stuff up, especially as I cannot deduct it as a cost to my business until it sells!

As I shared in my last post, going through and counting inventory was very overwhelming at first, but also very inspiring for me. I found some findings and beads that I had totally forgotten about. I also didn't realize how many Swarovski crystals I have accumulated over the years. I absolutely love to work with Swarovski crystals because of the vast selection of color, shapes and sizes and how they sparkle... BUT I have to admit they don't sell very well in my shop! I really don't know why!

Still, I couldn't resist making some chandelier earrings which I thought were such a clever use of bits of leftover chain, 3 and 4mm bicones, and some sterling tube beads I purchased a long time ago. After I ran out of tube beads, I wired the crystals for the center bar. They turned out beautifully and I've decided to keep a violet satin pair (like the last photo) for myself! The others are for sale in my shop and we'll see if they find homes. Don't you think they would make perfect bridesmaids or prom earrings too? They could be made in any color!

Swingtime in Indian Pink and Rose ... $26

Swingtime in Coral Pink or Padparadscha... $24
Well, here they are. What do you think? Any tips/ideas for selling Swarovski jewelry from fellow bloggers out there? I'd appreciate any constructive comments or suggestions.

Meanwhile, I'm going to go back to digging through my bead/findings stash for some more ideas. If you need to add some "sparkle" to your step you can visit my shop on Etsy here.

OUT FOR THE COUNT...

2010-01-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

I feel like I've been in a vortex these last few days while I've been taking inventory of every bead, finding, and foot of wire and chain in my possession! This is the first year that I will be filing tax forms regarding my jewelry business, so this is all very new to me. I'd thought I'd emerge into the real world for just a few minutes to share what I've learned from this seemingly daunting task.

This is not a "How to" but I found these steps helpful to getting started.

1. Organize:

Purge out old beads & findings that you don't think you will use. I've put these in a separate box labeled "Do Not Inventory" that I will hang onto for a while and then most likely give away or keep for personal use. These are items that I purchased before I started my business and they just don't fit in with my theme or style anymore.

2. Inventory software program or spreadsheet:

Get a good computer program to enter data. I bought an Excel spreadsheet program from an Etsy seller that seems to be working out very well so far. I had to tweak it a little but so far so good! Here is the link to the item:http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vt_related_1&listing_id=37795315

You can also make your own spreadsheet in Excel, but this program includes a jewelry cost worksheet that is linked to the prices of your inventory so that you can more easily figure out the cost of the goods you've sold. I'm excited to try that!

3. Just start:

Start counting and jump right in! I had all my beads mixed by color in a box, but now I've separated them into small ziploc bags to make everything easier for next year. When I receive orders from now on I have learned that I will keep it in the original bag with the coded label so that re-ordering the same bead/finding will be so much easier. I will also enter the price/code information onto my computer spreadsheet so I have all I need right there. You'll also need lots of small ziploc bags for storage and adhesive labels to label items for easier reordering.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE:

I dreaded this task but now after diving in I must say that I am so inspired! I have discovered beads and findings that I purchased and had every intention of using, that have long been forgotten. I have my sketchbook out and am collecting ideas for ways to incorporate stock that I already have into new jewelry designs. The best thing is that they are already paid for and if I use them I won't have to count so many next year!

Okay, back to my counting. I want to get finished so I can start creating again...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Debora

JUST A THOUGHT...

2010-01-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

I know Christmas has been over for a week already and the tree is coming down today, but I wanted to share this thought I had on Christmas day with you. I woke up on Dec. 25th and I was giddy with excitement, not because of the presents that were under the tree for me; instead I was imagining all the people who were going to be opening little boxes like these on the right and receiving my jewelry as Christmas gifts. How cool is that?

As I reflect on my business last year, I have to admit that the most fulfilling thing about sending my jewelry around the globe is knowing the enjoyment that it gives to those wearing it. Adorning yourself, I know, isn't the most important thing, but it gives me satisfaction to know that it puts a little smile in someone's day.

Many thanks to all of you who have supported me as customers, blog readers, my family and my cheerleaders.

Wishing you all much happiness, good health and success in 2010!

FRUITCAKE ANYONE?...

2009-12-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

To most Americans fruitcake conjurs up images of sticky raisins, sickly sweet cherries and general reactions of "YUK" or more kindly "No thanks". Most of my American comrades react this way, however I do have a couple of friends, bless their hearts, that like my fruitcake; at least they say they do and even agree to take some home with them. What they do with it, I really don't want to know!

Fruitcake brings back memories of my childhood growing up in Canada, when my British mother would enlist the help of me and my sisters for the yearly baking task. I remember having to line the tins with paper, making sure that both sides were generously coated in butter so they would "stick" to the pans. I also recall her taking the cakes out of their aluminum tins every week to pour some more rum or brandy on the top. I remember the gooey stickiness of cutting the red and green candied cherries in half, (how do they get those cherries so green anyway?) and the sweet aroma filling the house that only cakes made with real butter can do!

Last year, for the first time in my adult life, I decided to pull out the "ole" recipe and give it a try. It was a little difficult to find all the ingredients here in the United States that matched my Canadian recipe. I also think by the time I started shopping, a lot of the ingredients had been snatched up already. Now wait a minute. There must be some Americans here buying all the mixed fruit peel, glazed cherries and such! I also couldn't believe how much it costs to make these cakes! This year, I decided to cut the recipe by 1/3; it just made way too much. I still ended up with 2- loaf pan size cakes and 1- 6" round.

My version is a LIGHT fruitcake, which means that you can still see white cake in between the fruit. There are some fruitcakes that are so heavy that they really don't contain much flour at all. The DARK Fruit cake recipe in my book has only 1/4 cup of flour for 1 cake. I have to admit I'm not really a fan of those.

For some inspiration or perhaps a chuckle, I've included a link to an old 1975 video I found of a British cook named Fanny Cradock. My favorite line from Part One is:

"Prices are so terrible these days, but you have to be allowed ONE piece of decent cake a year."

I'm not sure about Fanny's recipe but this version is very DECENT indeed and not too heavy on the fruit, so that most people will at least be willing to give it a try!

LIGHT FRUIT CAKE

(Adapted from Five Roses Cookbook 1983)
This recipe represents 2/3 of the original, sorry about all the 1/3’s!

2 2/3 cups chopped mixed peel
2 1/3 cups raisins (dark or sultana, I prefer dark)
1 cup glazed red cherries, cut in halves
1 cup glazed green cherries, cut in halves
2/3 cup orange juice
2 cups sliced or slivered blanched almonds
Juice & rind from 1 lemon (2 Tbsp. juice, 1.5 Tbsp. rind)
3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. salt
2/3 lb. butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 eggs (warm to room temp.)
*Combine fruits and soak overnight in orange juice.

Preheat oven. Grease and line 2 loaf pans with greased waxed or parchment paper. Add almonds, juice and rind to fruit mixture; sprinkle with a little flour (from measured amount) and mix well. Combine balance of flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside. Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating between additions. Add eggs, one at a time and beat well. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Fold in fruit mixture. Fill prepared pans, ¾ full. Place a shallow pan of hot water on bottom rack of oven. Place cake pans in center of oven. Bake in a slow oven about 1 hour. Remove pan of hot water and bake about 1 ¼ hours longer or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack before removing cakes. Wrap well (plastic and then foil) and store in a cool dry place. Let cakes ripen at least 3 weeks.

Loaf pans: 2 - 8” X 4.5”
1 - 6” diameter spring form pan
Cooking time: about 2 ¼ hours
Temperature: 275° F.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND SALE

2009-11-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

I am excited to let you know about a sale this weekend in my online shops on Etsy and Artfire.

As a thank you to all of my blog readers, previous customers, family and friends I'm offering FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE all weekend. What a great way to jump start your Christmas shopping or treat yourself to something you've had your eye on!

The sale starts November 27th and goes through midnight (PST) Monday, November 30th. When checking out, type in "FREESHIP" in the notes to seller and I will refund the amount through Paypal.

If buying through Artfire, the savings will be deducted automatically with the coupon code.

Thanks so much for helping me make my business a success this year and choosing to BUY HANDMADE.

Feel free to forward this blogpost to friends and family so they can take advantage of the savings too!

All the best to you and your families....Debora

http://beadinbythesea.etsy.com/ (approx. 85 items)
http://beadinbythesea.artfire.com/ (approx. 62 items)

PS. To shop just click on one of the links above.

Autumn Inspiration...

2009-11-05T09:56:00.001-08:00

We had a lot of wind last night, and so once again the ground is covered in leaves, mostly maple from the huge tree I've photographed above, mixed in with various others from our backyard greenbelt. Piles and piles of them in hues of yellow, russet, green and orange. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of bright red color, as oak trees are not very common here in the Pacific Northwest.

Seeing this sight makes me stare in awe at the symphony of color around me, while others make a mad dash for their rakes! You can see that Fall color is my inspiration in the few pieces of jewelry I've scattered throughout my collage. Thankfully, my husband is the one who is inspired to grab the rake!

It's my birthday...and I'll have a sale...

2009-10-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

if I want to! Yes, I'm back and feeling so much better. I thought I'd share some new designs that have been added to my shop in the last week.

and... to celebrate feeling well again AND my birthday I'm going to have a FREE SHIPPING sale to all my US and Canadian blog followers and Facebook fans. This will only be advertised here so here's your chance for some exclusive savings.

Just type in FREESHIP in the notes to seller on either my Artfire or Etsy shop and I will refund the shipping amount through Paypal. Sale starts today October 24th and ends Sunday midnight Oct 25th, 2009.

Happy Shopping...and Happy Birthday to Me...

UNDER THE WEATHER...

2009-10-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

I've been fighting a case of the flu this week and unable to post anything new on my blog. I just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about you!

Our typical rainy Fall days are starting to appear with more frequency here in Washington state and we are beginning the "big gray" as my husband called it this morning .Meanwhile keep healthy everyone, see you soon!

ARTBEADS.COM SWAROVSKI REVIEW

2009-10-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Recently I was asked by an Artbeads.com representative if I would like to do a review on my blog of their Swarovski Crystallized Elements Line. Of course I didn't hesitate. I have been a happy customer of Artbeads since I began making jewelry several years ago and everyone knows that Swarovski crystals are known to be the very best in terms of quality, availability of shapes, finishes and colors.

Artbeads is located in Gig Harbor, WA, just south of where I live in the NW corner of Washington state, so I get my items quickly and when I was just starting out and buying a few things at a time, I loved the free shipping with no minimum order.

After browsing through their extensive selection of Swarovski crystal I decided on a couple of "glam" pendants, some shapes and colors that I wanted to check out, and some old standbys that I have used for years- mainly their 4mm bicones.

PROJECTS:

I call this one... Black Beauty. It is simply wire wrapped Swarovski Rounds in Black Diamond and Jet Bicones gracefully interrupted with short links of sterling silver chain. It is a versatile piece that can be worn for everyday or dressed up. Because of the wide variety of sizes available, I was able to gradually decrease the sizes of the beads from 8mm in front to 4mm in back. The back has a 2" extender chain with a fine silver disc to finish it off.

"Romancing the Bride" ... Lovely baroque pendants wire wrapped to 4mm bicones and 6mm rounds all in Crystal AB (aurora borealis) make a classic and very stunning pair of earrings for the bride or any special occasion.

"Romantic Glam"... I literally gasped when I pulled this teardrop pendant in light vitrail out of the package along with its sister in Vitrail Medium (below). I decided these didn't need a lot of dressing up, so I simply wire wrapped them in sterling silver wire and attached them to a cable chain. These would be fabulous for any upcoming Christmas/Holiday party when you want to make a statement. I would be shocked if you didn't get at least one compliment while wearing either one of these beauties!

And...now for my favorite..."Mysterious". The sterling chain and all the findings have been oxidized. I wire wrapped a couple of 4mm vitrail medium bicones at the clasp end for a nice finishing touch.

And here are a couple of projects below that are "in the works". I don't have all the components I need to finish these off but I wanted to show you a few more of the Swarovski elements I received. Below are Graphic beads in Crystal Copper, Helix beads in Purple Velvet, 4mm bicones in a new color called Mocca, more Purple Velvet and Swarovski Asymmetrical Pearls in Powder Almond waiting to be made into a triple strand bracelet.

Classic 4mm bicones in this fun mix of indicolite, silk, smokey topaz, burgundy and lime ready to be wire wrapped into a simple 2 strand necklace with oxidized sterling chain.

Make sure to check out Artbeads.com for a huge selection of Swarovski Crystallized Elements products. I'm sure you won't be disappointed when you see their competitive prices and experience their excellent customer service!

IF YOU BUILD IT...

2009-09-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

Will they come? I know there is a movie that says so.

After you create wonderful products into which you pour our heart, skill, capital and time...

After you take fabulous photographs because you know that great PHOTOS are THE most, if not most important element to online success...

After you work on SEO (search engine optimization), descriptions, eye catching titles...

After you work further on branding, banners, avatars, shop policies, artist's bio's, etc...

Do you just sit there and wait?

Ha, if only it were that easy!

The single biggest surprise I had in starting an online jewelry business Beadin By The Sea was the startling realization that the "If you build it, they will come" mentality is simply not true! You can have the most awesome products, great photos, slick website but if no one sees it, you are doomed!

After a year and a half of selling online I am still (and always will be I suspect) trying to figure out how to draw customers to my shop. Of course there are the traditional ways to promote a business that work, like advertising (web based or traditional), passing out business cards, promotions, give aways and networking with other artists and business owners. And then there is the whole mysterious social realm of marketing of which I'm still exploring. Yes, I am twittering, facebooking, blogging, and, participating in forums.

Whew! This all reinforces the fact that, after we build it, we need to promote it, maintain it, tweak it, add to it and promote it some more!

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to be a "how to" market your online business, because I'm no expert! I would, however, appreciate your thoughts how you attract customers to your shop, or how you get noticed in the World Wide Web and maybe we can help each other.

Credits: I must give thanks to this spider which I found yesterday morning spinning his web along our front driveway. I was mesmerized by the way he worked, so deftly spinning his silk, determined to finish the task at hand, totally oblivious of my camera flashes. Of course, I would be this focused too, if I depended on my web for my food supply. Oh, maybe there's a lesson in there too!

TREASURY TUESDAY...

2009-09-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Here's another Treasury to share with you. I think I'm finally resigned to the fact that I must say "Goodbye" to summer and "Hello" to Fall.

I love the rusts, browns, tans and golds of this season and found so many great items on Etsy to put together a fall themed collage. One of the shops, I featured is sparkleshop (top left corner), where I bought a sweet little vintage brass quail over the weekend and the other is onaroll (lower left hand corner), a fellow Etsian who made a purchase from my Etsy shop a while ago. She knits sweet coffee cup cozies and ipod cases. Check out their shops by clicking on their names in blue.

You may also visit the treasury room to see all the other shops by clicking on the picture.

FEELIN' FALL...

2009-09-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Darker mornings, crisper days, and back to school... I think it's finally time to say goodbye to summer and get excited about Fall! I was going to share a new treasury with you this morning, but after snagging it at 6:00 am, it developed some glitches and I had a big hole in the middle! I deleted it and I'll try this afternoon when the Treasury opens up again.

In the meantime, here are some items from my shop that give me that Fall feeling. Greens, golds, yellows and browns are all colors that we see alot of in the Pacific Northwest as summer gradually turns into Autumn.

Are you seeing signs of Fall in your part of the world?

LATEST TREASURY...AQUA & LIME

2009-09-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yikes, it's been awhile since I posted on my blog! I was pretty busy in my shops at the end of August and now I'm in a little bit of a lull right now. Time to make a Treasury!

This one started when I saw the apple cozy in aqua blue and green. I began to look for items on Etsy with those color combinations and came up with this color study in aqua and lime. I also made sure to include some of my blog friends. Don't worry if you're not in this one as I'm going to start an experiment and make at least one treasury per week for awhile. I'm curious to see if that will increase my chances of being in treasuries or actually making it to the coveted Front page of Etsy.

If you click on this photo you will be taken to the treasury room. All these clicks increase it's chances of being seen so go ahead and CLICK!

Oh, and I hope you're having a great Labor Day!

BROKEN HEARTS UPDATE & LET'S COMMUNICATE...

2009-08-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

I am now finally the owner of an "UN-broken hearts" Starbucks mug. Remember I wrote a post about the one that I broke? Here is the link to Part 1 to get you up to date. It took 17 days for it to get here even though it was shipped using Priority Mail which takes 3-5 days. Of course when you don't mail the package for 2 weeks it takes a little longer. Yes, I'm happy with my purchase but the whole transaction really reinforced in me how critical communication is to providing excellent customer service. I feel that this is particularly important in an online shop because you can't feel and touch the product and talk to the owner face to face.

Apparently the Ebay seller had to have surgery (that I believe was scheduled) and wasn't able to mail her packages out. A quick note to tell me there would be a delay would have alleviated any doubts, negative thoughts and impatience I felt. After finally writing an email after 2 weeks, I did get an apologetic phone call explaining the circumstances. As a customer, don't you just want to know there is someone there working or making progress to getting your product out the door?

Every sale that I receive, I send an email to my buyer to thank them for their order and let them know when I plan to ship. There are days when I'm busy and it feels like an extra burden I'm tempted to shrug off. After all, they do get an automated one from Etsy or ArtFire but a personalized messsage is something that I really value and want to pass on to my customers. It is what sets apart a small one woman operation from the big guys. I realize there are some shops that have many sales a day (much more than me) and this could get time consuming. It is my wish that I'm never too busy to show appreciation to my customers in this way because without them I would have no business!

So, with that I think I will go have another cup of tea in my new coffee mug (yes tea) and get ready for my day. I would also like to thank all of you who read my blog, visitors and customers, who leave your wonderful comments of encouragement and support!

Have a great day...Debora

Disclaimer: I am not and do not claim to be an expert in online selling. These are just my views and please don't take them as an attack if you do not agree or practice them, thanks...

ISN'T SHE LOVELY...

2009-08-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

What does one do when sales are slow? August started out with a flurry of sales. After being featured in an Etsy Storque Article Top Ten Monogram Pendants (first time for me) the extra traffic pushed me up to my 200th sale. Whoo Hoo! Things this week have really slowed down and I'm taking the advice that I so often hear in the Etsy forums. I've turned my attention to retaking some photos that were mediocre and sprucing up my shop with a new mannequin.

I ordered this gal and she arrived last week. I really wanted a mannequin that was life size and flesh colored. I have decided to call her "Emma" because if I had had a girl that's what I would have named her. Anyway, when I was unpacking Emma from her box, my son was in the room and I jokingly told him he must not look as she was very naked. Yes, he complied! Hee, hee! Isn't she lovely dressed in my lilac and blue handknit sweaters?

In my research, I have noticed that there seems to be an ongoing debate as to whether customers like to see jewelry modeled. Many people are turned off by the "ick" factor of knowing that the jewelry they are considering buying has been worn and this seems especially true of earrings. But many like to be able to get the sense of scale that a model offers, since jewelry photos are so often magnified to show details. Personally, I enjoy looking at shops that use a model or mannequin especially when they show how the necklaces can be worn with different clothing. They are great because they can give us a sense of scale that cannot be achieved by lying the piece of jewelry on a flat surface.

I have to say that I've had an item or 2 returned because the customer didn't read the measurements in the description and realize how small it is. What do you think? Are you more likely to buy a necklace because you have seen how it looks on a "person"?

I really appreciate you taking the time to leave your comments below. I read each and every one!

BROKEN HEARTS SAGA PART 1...

2009-08-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

Is there a name for a fear of emptying the dishwasher,"Emptydishwasherphobia" perhaps? I think I'm starting to dread this job more and more. I've had my share of broken plates and glasses that have slipped out of my hands and landed on my merciless granite countertop, but now I've broken my very favorite coffee cup! I'd love to tell you that it was a surprise gift from my hubby on Valentines Day and you could all feel extra sorry for me, but I have to be honest and admit that's not the case. It does have sentimental value though, because there is a story behind how I came to have it. Would you like to hear it? I will apologize for the long story. You may opt to skim this part, but men take particular note.

My husband always asks me what I want for Valentines Day expecting me to pronounce some lavish wish like a dozen red roses, a romantic dinner for two or perhaps some fine jewelry. As you know I have plenty of beads and baubles, so much so, that I have to sell it online!. Sorry, I digress!

I replied that year, that I simply wanted a special cup I had seen at Starbucks that had a stainless steel bottom with floating red hearts. Well, Valentines Day rolled around and my sweetheart did not produce the cup! Yes, I was disappointed, but he couldn't figure out why I wanted something so ordinary like a coffee cup. Oh, yes, he had gone to the Starbucks near work and they didn't have any such mug. Oh men, ye of little resourcefulness! So guess what did? I called all the local Starbucks shops in the Kansas City area and lo and behold there was one left which I promptly went to buy (which was half price by then because the special day had come and gone). And that is the story of how I came to own this cup... and now it's broken.

Where do you go when you need to find a rare collectible? Ebay of course! Even my preteen son knows this. I did find one, bought it, and I'm waiting patiently for it to arrive on my doorstep. The reason I'm calling this Part 1 is because I ordered it almost 2 weeks ago and I haven't received it yet. The saga continues...

All of this may seen trivial but it has taught me something. For a broken cup to be the worst part of my day, I would say that I am hugely blessed and life is very good!

Have a great day, and be careful when you empty that dishwasher!

WEEKEND DEALS

2009-08-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

I'm having a free shipping sale! All paid orders made between 08/01/09 thru midnight 08/02/09 PST will receive FREE SHIPPING WITHIN THE USA on both my ArtFire and Etsy shops.

Just type in the code "WEEKEND DEALS" in the message to seller upon checkout and I will promptly refund the amount through Paypal. If you've been "on the fence" about something now may be the time to treat yourself!

Click Here for my Etsy shop
Click Here for my ArtFire Shop

And... Have a great summer weekend!

THE OLDER I GET...

2009-07-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

the more trouble I have making up my mind! Just ask my husband. After much deliberation, here it is... my new mountain bike! It is the 2010 version of the one below. I can check this off on the ole wishlist!

I have to say that choosing just the right bike was quite the dilemma for me, but mostly because the aqua blue color I really wanted (shown below) was no longer available. So it's really not an age thing, it's an availability issue! When you have to alter course, that's where it gets tough and you have to weigh all your different options. This applies to everything, not just bikes, don't you think?

Here's my method of choosing a bike:

1. Color

2. Price

3. Color

4. Size

5. Color

6. Availability
7. Lastly COLOR!

Now given the time of summer and the fact that the Tour De France just ended, availabililty should probably be first on the list. Bicycles aren't something that you can buy over the internet and have delivered to your house. I'm so used to finding what I want/need online and just ordering it. I did find the color I wanted but it was in San Diego California, just a little too far down the road to say "Hang on, I'll be right over to pick it up".

And you guessed it, color is very important to me. Not so surprising for one who has a creative mind! This is what drove my husband crazy because he didn't understand how high it rated on the scale.

Well, in the end I didn't get the color I really wanted but I do love the silver and red. The colors are more classic and will be better in the long run. Now I need to buy a helmet and some clothes to match though. Good grief did I just say that? At least those can be delivered... and the world is my marketplace, Yea.

CRAVING COLOR...

2009-07-27T10:34:00.001-07:00

With all the seasonal blooms surrounding me with vibrant color this summer, I was beginning to think that my jewelry shop needed some splashes as well. I love sterling silver jewelry because it just GOES with everything you could possibly wear, but there's nothing like color to perk up your spirits! Sorry for the self promotion here today, but I wanted to share a few brand new pieces I've just added to my shop. My favorite color is blue so it's only fitting that this is where I start! The first photo above is a lariat necklace with Aqua blue (my favorite shade of blue) chalcedony briolettes called "Sea Breeze".

Dreamy Blues... AAA London Blue Topaz Earrings

And for those that love soft pastels...Hopeless Romantic Coin Pearls

Thanks for letting me share. I'm off to dig through my stash of gemstones for some more colorful additions to my jewelry shop. Next is a necklace to match the pearl earrings.

Have a great day and enjoy seeing all the summer colors because they only last for so long!

DON'T BE FOOLED...

2009-07-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

... by these innocent faces! Papa and Junior you have been caught!

We've just had alot of landscaping done in our yard, including tearing down a fence around our property to expose the natural green belt behind us and planted lots of new shrubs. I wish I could show you the before pictures because it was quite the transformation!

Now that we have no fence however, we have discovered that the deer that I so often admire with their seemingly sweet little faces are actually menaces in disguise. They really love the new dogwood trees that we planted along the perimeter of the garden and have taken to eating the leaves for snacks. I couldn't resist getting out my camera to catch them in the act before I shooed them away.

Here they are looking a little guilty now.

Great photo you guys. Okay you can go now and eat someone else's yard!

WHAT'S ON YOUR WISHLIST?

2009-07-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Do you have them? Wishlists, I mean? You know the sites where you can save your favorites or make a wishlist?

I don't know about you but the internet has really revolutionized my way of shopping. This year marks the 10 year anniversary since we bought our first computer. I would say that my internet buying has increased exponentially since then! I never would have thought that I'd be selling jewelry via the web and shipping it all over the world either.

I live in a small town with a VERY limited selection of shops and it's exciting to know that the world is my shopping mall! Many of you reading this may have grown up in the era when you knew of no other way, but I remember having to thumb through catalogs and spending hours driving all over town looking for something specific I needed. Most of my purchases arise from careful thought, planning AND necessity. So why am I writing about wishlists?

These earrings that I made for my online shop Beadin By The Sea at the request of a customer... have reinforced something I already knew. That I need a really good pair of flush cutters. By the way I love suggestions from my customers. They have the best ideas! To make 8 nicely formed rings for these earrings I probably had to fuse twice that many. Wire and money wasted because I could not achieve a good cut with my current cutters. I've had these Tronex cutters on my wishlist for about 6 months and I finally coughed up the $60 for them and ordered them this morning. I can't wait to get them and try them out. Liz Jones recommends using them for fine silver wire fusing in her book "Silver Wire Fusing". I'll be sure to write a review when I get them since alot of you who read my blog are jewelry artists.

So, since we are talking about shopping and wishlists I'll share with you some other items on my wishlist. Here we go...

Paragon SC2 Digital Kiln for PMC: Approx. $600

Big ticket item here. This kiln would allow me to fire many PMC pieces at one time. I could also make larger pieces even 3 dimensional ones.

Or perhaps the Ultra Lite Beehive Kiln: Approx $200

A lower price tag makes this more affordable but it does not have a digital thermometer. It's also very small, that plate is about 3 inches across!

And then there is the issue of a new bicycle. I gave away my mountain bike when we moved 2 years ago and I haven't replaced it yet. My wishlist includes getting a "Giant" mountain bike since both my husband and son have one. Which one do you like? I like the price of the Boulder but the color of the Rincon. Oh, what to do!

Rincon Women's: MSRP $540.

Boulder SE W: $350

As you can see, I won't be asking my husband for baubles and clothes this Christmas. Bring on the tools Honey!

AS AMERICAN AS...

2009-07-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

Apple Pie! You thought I'd put a picture of fireworks on my blog today didn't you? Well, July 4th means parades, fireworks and food as well as celebrating the freedoms in our country.

I had a craving for homemade apple pie yesterday with fresh apples using my mother's family pastry recipe. Yes, it was delicious...and... I'm not even American!

Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July everyone!

LAZY SUMMER DAYS...

2009-07-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Makes for a lazy blogger! Yes, I admit it, that's me. I haven't blogged for over a week and I don't know where the time went!

Well, let's see... I've been enjoying these schedule free days by catching up on sleep (very important), lounging around with my son and eating the occasional ice cream treat, shopping, reading news on the internet, going for walks, etc. If it weren't for filling jewelry orders in my Etsy shop, I would be positively brain dead!

I must say after 2 weeks of school being out, I'm going a little stir crazy. My son is a homebody, but I think it's time to get out and enjoy this beautiful summer we've been having. We've done so much work on our house that a major vacation is out of the question this year, but a little trip to somewhere hot might be in order, perhaps Leavenworth, WA. I'd also love to buy myself a bike and get out on some of the trails around here again. I regret that I gave away my old mountain bike a couple of moves ago and haven't replaced it. I really love to play tennis and need to pick up my racquet again. And finally yesterday, I received some more metal clay in my mailbox that is ready to be rolled and shaped into some new designs for my jewelry shop.

Here's a collage of things I could be doing:

1. Ahh, the days when my son loved to get out on his bike, taken 5 years ago.

2. Family tennis, taken recently at the local courts.

3. A beautiful 18 hole mini golf course in Leavenworth WA, very fun!

4. Metal clay in the process of drying on my hotplate.

Okay, I'm off to get something done, but first maybe another cup of tea and catching up on the news in the local paper first... lazy, lazy, I tell you!

STRAWBERRY PICKING DAYS!

2009-06-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is officially summer, although it doesn't feel much like it here today with our overcast skies. I'm going to make strawberry jam, so I thought I'd snap a picture of these red beauties before I smash them into a pulp! I've already eaten way too many but it's so hard to resist the sweetness and juiciness of freshly picked strawberries. Along the main street of our small town there are fruit stands that beckon you to partake of this local fare.

Every year during this time, childhood memories of picking strawberries come floating back to mind. I reminisce of my 2 sisters and me, many years ago in BC, Canada, deciding that we were going to make lots of money picking strawberries in the fields. We responded to an ad in the paper looking for pickers, where they drive you by bus to the fields, about 45 minutes away. We picked all day in the summer sun, probably ate too many strawberries, (seems to be a pattern here) and came home hot, dusty, sweaty and with only a few dollars in our pockets. Yes, our hopes of loaded bank accounts were dashed and we didn't make it back the next day. I remember coming home and my Mom had fixed strawberries for dessert! At that point we didn't want to look at another strawberry! I guess that's why to this day I just buy the berries already picked. They just seem to taste better that way!

One more thing. Here is a treasury I made that reminds me of those strawberry picking days. If you click on it, it will take you to the treasury room where you can comment. It's only there for 2 days so don't delay!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-06-18T23:36:00.001-07:00

Hope for tomorrow. I took this picture tonight of the gorgeous pink sunset that was painted across the sky in front of our house. Not only was it beautiful, and fleeting, but it got me to thinking how, as a Christian, I have a bright hope for tomorrow.

I have peace in my heart knowing that the Lord who made me knows me and loves me and even when I leave this place I have faith in the knowledge that I will live with Him forever.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

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.

LUCKY DAY

2009-06-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of you who read my blog are sellers on Etsy. So pardon me, Non Etsians, while I share some good luck I had yesterday with my fellow sellers. If this can happen to me, I know it can happen to any of my Etsy blog friends!

You know how you look at the front page when Admin picks the items and you see that they've used a certain search word like "woodland" or "weddings" or "Spring"? Well, I have many a time and I silently yell and wave my arms in the air "Pick Me, Pick Me"...Hello over here!!!

Well, yesterday it finally happened to me! They used the search term "rustic" and lo and behold my "Organic Hoop Earrings" were included on the Front page Admin Picks. They are in the center of the 3rd row. They were there for about 20 minutes before they sold. Again, I did not get to see it, but found out about it from CraftCult and got a screenshot thanks to Etsy Front Pagers on Flickr.

Now if only I HAD seen it and I could have increased the quantity to 2. I'm being greedy though aren't I...20 minutes on the Front Page is certainly lucky indeed and I'll take it thank you very much!

Latest Treasury

2009-06-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Excuse me for sharing this with you but I love this treasury I put together yesterday. I hadn't made one in such a long time and I had fun selecting all these items for a blue, yellow and white theme. It all started when I discovered that sweet little sachet pillow that is front and center.

Since there are over 600 treasuries at the moment, I know that mine has a very slim chance of making it to the front page, so I thought I'd give it a little more exposure here- one of the advantages of having your own blog!

Why we Etsy people make treasuries is still a mystery to me. After taking the time to select all the items from the thousands of them on the site, copying and pasting the numbers into poster sketch and then again once that little box shows up (after you wait some more) is beyond me. And then to have no one look at it is disappointing to say the least!

But continuing making them I will because it's like filling a blank canvas with little bits of art to make a cohesive, colorful picture. I guess that's why they call us "curators". Oh, well, at least I can post it here and hopefully it will get some "love"! If you click on it, it will take you to the treasury room but just for a couple of days until it expires! The more clicks it gets and the more comments, my chances of getting on the front page go up.

ETSY YART SALE

2009-06-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

"So what does that mean?" you may ask. Yes, I know it's a strange title that probably needs a little explanation for Non-Etsians.

YART means ~ YARD SALE + ART = YART

So there you have it. I've decided to participate this year in this Etsy wide sale. There are many shops offering special deals between June 10th and 14th, 2009. I realize I'm a little late starting and letting you know, but what else is new!

Go to etsy.com and you can type in the word YART in your search. This will bring up many shops having a sale.

Of course, I'd prefer if you visit my shop Beadin By The Sea first (I know I'm shamelessly self promoting) by clicking here. I have a YART sale section with 10% off selected items. And if you leave BLOGFREESHIP in the notes to seller upon checkout, I'll even throw in free domestic shipping on all items. (that's within the USA). But just until midnight June 14, 2009!

See you there!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-06-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

from "All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil F. Alexander 1848

A friend of ours treated us to a boat ride last night around Fidalgo Island, Washington state, where we live. It was a beautiful evening as our "heatwave" continues- just perfect for boating. I took many photos, which I may post at another time, but this one of the sea lion was by far the most intriguing.

Apparently this big fella is often seen suntanning on this buoy and is quite used to boats getting close for a better look. It certainly reminded me that God made all creatures, big and small, , swift and slow, beautiful and beautifully challenged in all sizes and shapes! We also saw a pod of dolphins, but well, they are too swift for my camera! I'm also thankful for the generosity of our friend to give of his time to show us around the beautiful place we live from a different perspective.

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.

SUMMER ARRIVES EARLY

2009-06-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here in the Pacific Northwest we've been having a heatwave. Well, for us it's a heatwave. While this is standard fare for much of the United States, we in our little NW corner of our country are not used to (or prepared for) temperatures in the high 70's in early June. Our average high summer temperature in July and August, our hottest months, are a humorously low 67°F, yep you read that right!

We do not have air conditioned houses, outdoor pools, and many of us do not have basements (although we do) so many lack a sanctuary in which to "cool off". Thankfully, temperatures do lower at night and it never lasts for more than a few days. After being in Kansas for the last 2 summers, I'm not complaining though. At least I can open every window of my house for some cool ocean breezes (our version of AC) and feel somewhat of a respite.

I thought I'd share a few photos of "Signs of Summer" in a collage. From left to right starting at the top:

1. Shorts and sandals

2. Fans are our AC

3. Planted pots

4. Backyard squirrels

5. Ahh, pink lemonade

6. Short sleeves

7. Rockrose

8. Sunshine

9. Beaded jewelry of course!

Are you seeing signs of summer in your part of the world or are you in the dog days already? Our kids aren't even out of school until the middle of June!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-05-29T09:57:00.001-07:00

I apologize for the amateur photography here, but last night the sky was so breath taking, I attempted to take a picture of the quarter moon. It was about 10:15 at night, and because our days here are quite long now, it looked like a blue sunset. I'll try to take one again tonight, and use my tripod. I'll post it tomorrow if it's any better, but I thought it would look kind of strange if I titled this FINGERPRINT SATURDAY instead of Fingerprint Friday!

I was reminded of the verse:
Genesis 1: 14
"And God said, "let there be light in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years...And God saw that it was good."

Yes, God, very good indeed!!

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.

CHECKING IN...

2009-05-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

I know I've been scarce lately. I can't really explain why except that we have a lot of projects going on around the house inside and out and ,well, the weather has been so nice! I've noticed a few of you have visited and I'm sorry there hasn't been anything new to read. We've been having some landscaping done in our yard, new carpet installed and while I'm not doing the work, of course I need to supervise!

Track season is also winding down so I'm looking forward to seeing more of my son, not driving everywhere for meets and and more importantly not standing out shivering in the rain for 3 hours anymore. We have the finals today and I'm elated to say that it is actually sunny!

The quilted pillow sham project for my son's bed is now finished, you remember the one that I told you about a few weeks ago where I had to rip out all my quilting stitches? Please tell me it looks like Pottery Barn because that was my inspiration. Now I'm feeling motivated to finish a sweater I started knitting last year. When I finish one project I always seem find another one that's incomplete! The disadvantages of being crafty I suppose!

Sales in my shop have been pretty steady this month, and while I won't be paying the mortgage with my profits anytime soon, I'm feeling good about the way it's going. I just added these necklaces to my shop which I've called "Alpha Pendants". The initial is stamped while the Metal clay is in the "wet stage", dried, filed and then fired. I dug through my old scrapbooking supplies for the rubber stamps that I'm using, how fun (and practical) is that? I sold my first pendant within a few days so that's always a plus! Here's a photo of the pendants I've made so far, with the first one being shipped today.

Sorry about my randomness, but that's a little how I'm feeling right now! How have you been in your part of the world? Are you getting out to enjoy the warmer weather, or finishing some projects as well?

PS: Don't you just love my new shoes. I resisted buying Mary Janes for so long but now I think I'm going to live in flats from now on!

SWEET FEELING...

2009-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am beside myself because a treasury I was featured in made it to the coveted front page of Etsy. For the first time ever I get to experience this sweet feeling that I'd heard so much about and it positively made my day! Of course I missed actually seeing when it was up though.

I suspected that something special had happened when I noticed that the number of views and hearts in my shop skyrocketed. I checked the treasury archive and low and behold I'd been on the front page. I have to thank AshleyPaul for creating this beautiful treasury and the 2 sales I received as a result.

By the way, my item is the small hoops earrings on the far left of the second column, (which actually didn't sell).

I can see now how being on the front page, frequently, can give your shop a real boost! Meanwhile I'll keep trucking along with my little shop and enjoy this sweet feeling for the rest of the day, okay?

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-05-15T07:22:00.001-07:00

A Washington state ferry coming in to the terminal.

Would you like to take a walk with me today through one of my favorites places here on Fidalgo Island, Washington? God's fingerprints are all over here! I took these photos this morning during a 2.2 mile stroll along what is called the Loop Road through Washington Park. This 220 acre park sits at the most western edge of the town on Rosario Strait just past the place where the ferries leave for all of the San Juan Islands and Victoria, British Columbia (Canada).

It is so quiet in this green santuary except for the sound of birds chirping, the seagulls calling and the waves striking the rocky shore. I missed taking a photo of a bald eagle coming in from sea to roost in his nest mistaking it at first for a lowly seagull (sorry seagull, I know God made you too!). Oh, well maybe next time. I also did not see deer today but we often see them grazing in the meadow.

Wildflowers

growing by the shoreline.

A carpet of ferns. So many shades of green in the forest.

The 2.2 mile "loop road" takes you in a circle around the perimeter of the park. There are some great hills to give your heart a little workout

You are rewarded at the top of this hill with a gorgeous view of Burrows Bay.

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.

THE LUCKY WINNER IS...

2009-05-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we find out who is the winner of these handmade fine silver earrings from my shop Beadin' By The Sea. First of all I want to say "Happy Mother's Day" to you all! I also would like to thank all of you who wrote in and bragged about your mothers. I was excited to receive 117 entries in all.

Some of the heartfelt comments really brought tears to my eyes, reminding me that I am not the only one who lost her mom at a young age. There are many of you out there who are also going through a tough time and being a support for Moms who are ill and my heart goes out to you. It was a comfort to me to hear the comments from those whose Moms are still around and how much you appreciate what they do and let them know while you still can.

So now let's see who won! My son drew the lucky number out of this handturned bowl.

It looks like the 72nd comment belongs to Brenda, congratulations! Here is what she wrote,

Again, I like to thank all of those who participated... and I hope you all have a Happy Mother's Day!

NO TIME FOR SLEEP!

2009-05-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that if you haven't entered yet for my Mother's Day Giveaway Contest then click here. The drawing will be tomorrow May 10th, 2009 at 4:00 PM PST.

So brag on your Mother and let me know why she is so special! Your entry just may be drawn to win these beautiful "Forget Me Not" Fine Silver PMC Earrings, available in my shop Beadin By The Sea.

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-05-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

When my husband and I were expecting our first child, everyone told us what a blessing it is be parents. I really don't think we had any perception of what it would be like until our son actually arrived. Now, as he is growing up, I realize there are really no words to describe the feeling I have or the pride I feel when he makes good choices, tries his hardest in a race, does well on a test, gives me a hug or simply says "I love you, Mom" even before I say it. Now don't get me wrong, it hasn't all been a bed of roses. There have been moments of frustration, weariness, worry, stress, but those seem so insignificant in comparison to the joy.

God chose to bless us with just one child when what we really longed for was two. Because of this, we have poured enough energy and love for two kids into one and really it is okay, now, after getting over the disappointment of learning we would not have another. I often joke with my son, that I smother him because he is the only one and he has to endure the attention of two kids... his "lot in life" I say. There is a bond between the three of us , Mom, Dad and child that is strong, supportive... inseparable. So that's my fingerprint for today, the blessings of motherhood.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: This has always been a favorite picture of mine, taken on Mother's Day four years ago when my son was eight, my how he has changed!

AS YE SEW...

2009-05-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

NEEDLEWORKER'S PROVERB:

"As ye shall SEW, so shall ye RIP". Author Unknown

No, you read it right. It is not the well known biblical scripture "As ye SOW, so shall ye REAP". I'm talking about how if you expect to get any sewing done you will have to spend some time ripping out. Actually this can be applied to almost every project, whether it's knitting, sewing, needlework, making jewelry, there are times when you feel like you have to take 2 steps backwards to go forward one step.

A few days ago, I took out a sewing project that has been taunting me for the last year. I kept hearing the fabric crying out "Finish what you started, already!" So now, I am determined to finish some quilted pillow shams for my son's bed.

I know that his quilt has been finished now for over a year, a quilt that I pieced with fabrics we bought on a trip to Kauai, and had one of those professional quilters with those awesome long arm machines on ball bearings and a 10 foot long frame, quilt. Not to mention the fact, that my 12 year old probably does not even know or care what a pillow sham is! Oh, but she made lovely even stitches in a beautiful wave pattern and I am trying to recreate it on the pillow shams. Why oh why did I not have her also quilt the pillow shams? Well, because they were not made at the time and I didn't want to drive the 10 miles again to her house to deliver them for quilting. And now, she lives in Kansas and I am in Washington state.

Meanwhile, I am ripping out stitches because I'm not happy with the way they look. And, I don't have enough fabric to piece another piece, unless I go back to Kauai and get some more. (Mmm, I like that idea!) I am determined to finish this so I will promise you all a picture of the completed bed with matching pillow shams when complete. And I will finish, because I bought some more yarn to start a felted knitted bag and I WILL NOT start knitting until this project is done!

Do you have any unfinished projects calling out to you? Feel free to share in the comments below.

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-05-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Well, they bloomed, they finally bloomed! We've been waiting in great anticipation to go see the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival this Spring. Since we were in Kansas the last 2 years, we feel like tourists in our own town revisiting all the special sights that we missed while being gone. On the tulip festival website it says, "Bloom times dependent on Mother Nature". In my book, mother nature is God Himself, the Master Gardener.

Take a look at the color and the beauty in these... just breathtaking. As you approach the fields, you are greeted by bands of cheerful color and I can't help but feel a smile come over my face. Not just a gorgeous sight, but a wonderful feeling to be home!

Me and my favorite young man, my 12 year old son.

Me and my other favorite man. My son took this one, he's a great photographer, don't you think?

MOTHER'S DAY GIVEAWAY/CONTEST

2009-04-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'm excited to announce my latest giveaway for Mother's Day! These beautiful "Forget Me Not Earrings" are a new design for my shop, BeadinByTheSea. I thought these would be an appropriate choice as they were one of my mother's favorite flowers and I think of her everytime I see them bloom in the Spring.

Sadly, when I was in my early twenties, I lost my mom to cancer. It was difficult to be without a mother at such a young age especially as I was just beginning a new career and my adult life. Even though it's been almost 20 years since her death, I often think of how much she has influenced my life. I credit her with giving me a love for creativity. She was always trying something new and encouraged me to explore new crafts often bringing me home craft kits to try. I would sit and watch her sew and be fascinated with how things are put together. She taught me how to knit and crochet and played a huge part in fostering my love of sewing which I further pursued by obtaining a degree in Fashion Design.

I miss her dearly and so I dedicate this giveaway to her loving memory.

And now for the contest rules:

1. Leave your name and email address or a link to your blog along with a comment telling me what you love about your Mom. Click on "comments" at the bottom of this post to see the comment box. Comments without contact information will be discarded.

2. Come back on Mother's Day, May 10th to see if you've won.

3. Entries close at 4:00 PM PST.

4. Open worldwide to anyone age 18+.

5. If you can't wait until Mother's Day, these earrings are available for purchase in my shop.

Meanwhile, if you are blessed to still have your Mother, I encourage you to take the time to express to her how much you love and appreciate her!

MOTIVATION MONDAY...TAKE ACTION

2009-04-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Dialogue with my cat:
Ace: "Do you need your computer?"

Me: "Does it keep you warm, my sweet?"

Ace: "Yes it feels nice and it kinda purrs like me"

Me: "Well, Ace, go ahead and relax, I'll get more work done if I don't use the computer anyway."

Don't you wish your pet could talk... or maybe not? They might remind us that we spend way too much time on the computer. It's amazing how fast time goes by when you're surfing the web. There is so much information out there to absorb: news, games to play, social networks to engage in, videos clips to watch, products to research and buy, I could go on and on!

So thanks Ace for the reminder. I think I'll turn this off and go create some more designs for my jewelry shop, clean my house or maybe even go enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

I found so many quotes about action this morning, here are a couple that I chose:

If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don't do it, and it won't happen.
Joe Dimaggio

The enjoyment of life would be instantly gone if you removed the possibility of doing something.
Chauncey Depew

Have a great Monday!

ROUND AND ROUND

2009-04-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Round and round she goes, when she stops nobody knows.

These earrings I just made yesterday really represent how I feel this week. Between feeding a large group of teenage boys on Tuesdays for youth group, hosting an adult bible study group on Wednesdays, being a wife and mom and keeping tabs on my jewelry shop (3 online venues) sometimes I feel like I'm running in five directions at once. I know most of it is self inflicted but I want to DO IT ALL! Do you feel ever feel like that?

In order for me to stop, I think I need to go somewhere without a computer so I can't find Twitter, Facebook, Etsy, 1000 Markets, ArtFire, Flickr, and Blogger. I know I would twitch for a while but pretty soon I might find time to relax and even escape into a good book. Well, maybe a good "Learn a New Jewelry Technique" or "How to grow your online business" book. Would that be a good compromise?

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

2009-04-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about the response I received to my second "Where in the World Giveaway Contest"! I received 199 comments in all which is an almost fourfold increase over my first contest. I also want to thank those that wrote lovely compliments about my jewelry.

Okay, first the answer. The photo was taken at Kilauea Lighthouse in Kauai, Hawaii. There were quite a few that guessed correctly. I guess the photo is not close-up enough to show the tropical vegetation because many of the entries guessed Ireland and Maine. If you'd like more information on this beautiful place here is the link to the website.

I thought it would be fitting to use this gorgeous hand turned bowl that I received as a gift from our friend Nathan to hold all 199 numbers . My son drew the winning number once again.

And now here is the lucky number:141

After much counting back and forth I've found the 141st entry: joannaonthelake

Congratulations Joanna! Not only will you find out where this picture was taken, but you'll be receiving this lovely necklace!

Again, I like to thank all of those who participated. I'm planning on having another giveaway to be drawn on May 10th, Mother's Day so keep checking back. In the meantime I can make more "Island Girl" necklaces if you'd like to purchase one. You may visit my shop Beadin' By The Sea by clicking here or the picture of the necklace to go directly to the listing.

Have a great Saturday everyone and Happy Easter too!

FINGERPRINT GOOD FRIDAY

2009-04-10T08:38:00.001-07:00

It's Good Friday today and as a Christian, I can't think of a more obvious fingerprint from God than the story of salvation: God's love for the world, God's gift of His only Son Jesus, and the opportunity for anyone who believes to be saved. There are many to whom this is not obvious but they are entitled to their opinion and hopefully will respect mine.

This is one of the most quoted salvation scriptures from John 3:16 that sums it up perfectly:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

We'll be attending Good Friday services tonight. These services are usually pretty somber and difficult for me as I think about the pain and suffering Jesus went through to carry out His Father's plan. The mood will be much more joyous 3 days from now when we attend Resurrection Sunday Services (Easter) to celebrate His victory over death.

Receiving good news is so much easier isn't it? We always want to hear the happy stuff. On Good Friday, we are called to remember the Cost which makes the Victory that much sweeter.

EARRING CARDS REVISITED

2009-04-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

I love it when you ask me questions, especially ones that I can answer! One of my most popular posts is a tutorial on "How to Make Your Own Earrings Cards". I noticed that there was a comment from "Anonymous" asking me if I had any ideas on how to hang hoops on the cards. I have a couple of ideas but the one I'm going to share is very fast and easy.

A link to the original post, the addition of this picture and a few simple instructions should be enough to get you on your way.

1. Lay your hoops with the top end just covering the the top hole.
2. Mark with pencil where the bottom of the hoop lands.
3. Use a 1/4" hand punch to punch a hole over the center dot.

Your hoops will be secure in the top hole and be able to freely hang within the larger bottom hole. This also works well for leverback earrings. Use the larger hole on the bottom in the same way so the leverback can hang unhindered.

That's it! Any more questions?

CLEAN YOUR WINDOWS...

2009-04-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Because you never know what you'll see wander in your backyard. Yep, my husband cleaned the windows last weekend and I was glad because I wouldn't have been able to snap this crystal clear photo. Click on the photo to make it large. As soon as I opened the sliding glass door to take another, off the deer bounded to hide.

We've had such beautiful weather the past few days and I've seen lots of wildlife activity in the woods behind me from squirrels, hummingbirds, various others birds and now deer. Back to drizzle and clouds today. Such is living in the Pacific Northwest. Are you seeing signs of Spring in your part of the world?

Oh, and have you cleaned your windows lately? The world seems so much brighter and sunnier when you can see through them.

SWEETNESS OF SMALL...

2009-04-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

Or how about itty bitty? I have to admit that lately I've been thinking small, well at least with some of my jewelry designs that is! I've been adding to my collection of clay cutters and I just received some flower shapes. The charms below are PMC pieces before being fired and they range from about 3/16" to 5/8". The larger flowers are going to be made into earrings but the rest will be put on hoops made from Argentium Sterling Silver wire.

And here are the small flowers after being fired, tumbled and oxidized. Sweet!

So now I have hearts, dots and flowers. I think stars may be next. What kind of shapes do you like? Do you tend to wear chunky jewelry or like to keep things small? I'd love to hear your input in the comments below.

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-04-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

You think I'm going to talk about tulips today don't you? Well, the Skagit Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon has started, but my fingerprint today is about friendship. Just like the bunch of tulips in this vase, God has a way of bringing people together from diverse backgrounds, ages, experiences and walks of life that is amazing. We host a small church group in our home on Wednesdays nights and every week I am reminded that God has given each of us unique gifts and puts people in our paths to stretch us, help us learn, to love and lean on each other.

An excerpt from 1 Corinthians 12: 26-27 about one body, many parts:

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Who has God put in your path this week that you can rejoice with, cry with, learn from or encourage this week?

DON'T FORGET...

2009-04-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

Ace is here to say Hi and remind you to enter my giveaway that will be ending April 11th, 2009. You'll find the details by clicking here.

Otherwise have a great Wednesday. I'm busy creating and thinking of new ideas for my blog! Okay, I'll admit I think I have writer's cramp! If you have anything you'd like to see more of feel free to comment below.

Photo manipulation done using Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0

A LEARNING PROCESS...

2009-03-30T09:48:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I wrote about my Etsy shop Beadin By The Sea and reaching my 100th sale. By the end of the day I had 102 sales so I reached my goal with some extra padding! I was shocked and excited at the same time because I really don't know why I had more sales last week than I usually have in a whole month!

These are some things I've been doing the last couple of weeks:

Renewed a little more often to get my items to the top of the "heap".
Added more brand new items to keep my shop "fresh".
I have a giveaway going right now which is driving traffic to my blog.
Lowered my shipping slightly.

Interesting to note:

Stayed off the Etsy forums. I only post there occasionally.
Did not put links to any items on Twitter, but responded to people's "Tweets".
I was not on the front page, never have been.
I was not in any gift guides, never have been.
I was in one treasury.

There are many threads on Etsy that give advice on how to get sales in your shop. I am still such a rookie but this is what I have learned so far:

There is no magic formula. You need to figure out what works for your own shop and your individual product. It takes time to experiment with different methods of promotion and even then I find it difficult to know why I've had some success.
Learn how to take fantastic photos of your products.

Have an excellent quality product that meets or exceeds your photos.
Provide outstanding customer service and I mean outstanding.

Now as I look towards another year, I ask myself, "What is a realistic goal for March, 2010?" My answer for this is to double my sales and hit 300 by this time next year. Think I can do it?

This quote seems to sum up what I'm trying to say:

"The great successful men of the world have used their imagination…they think ahead and create their mental picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but steadily building - steadily building." Robert Collier

Note: The necklace in the photo is a gift for a young friend on mine who is going through a difficult time. I engraved the word "faith" on the back for her but the symbol of the bird can mean many things. Birds have the freedom to soar and be taken to great heights just as we would like to do in our personal, spiritual, and business lives.

SO CLOSE TO 100!!

2009-03-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today is what everyone calls my first "Etsy-versary". It is a year ago today that I registered as a seller on Etsy, an online selling venue of everything handmade. I had no idea what I was starting or even if I would sell anything. I must admit I didn't really do my research and began selling on April 5th.

Afer a year of many changes in our family, like moving half way across the country and renovating our new home, I got more serious about my business in early Fall. Following a rather disappointing Christmas, my sales started to pick up the day AFTER Christmas and have been much more steady since. On February 23rd, I wrote about my 75th sale in my Etsy jewelry shop and made a goal to reach 100 sales by March 28th, my one year anniversary. I really thought it was a huge stretch, but after a flurry of sales this week I am soooo close at 99 sales!

I want to thank all my customers who've supported my shop and everyone who has encouraged me along the way, including my blog readers and dear Etsy and non-Etsy friends. Even if I don't reach 100 sales by the end of the day, I am very satisfied in knowing that I've sent my creations to many different parts of the world from Argentina to Paris and it's still exciting every time I have a sale or read glowing feedback from happy customers!

As an incentive, I'm offering one of my best sellers, one free pair of either my Small or Medium Organic Hoops made from Argentium Sterling Silver to the customer responsible, for my 100th sale! This offer ends midnight March 28th, 2009. If you're interested in my jewelry click here for the link to my shop Beadin' By The Sea.

UPDATE AT 8:50AM: I just got my 100th sale already! I thought I'd be biting my nails all day. My 100th customer will be receiving a pair of small hoop earrings. Thanks fellow Etsian, Lisa, from Lucid Moon Studios.!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-03-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

I was reminded this week of how God's fingerprints are all over our relationships whether it's between family or friends. God uses each of us and is expecting us to make a difference in each other's lives. We are put in situations where we have the opportunity to act or ignore that "still small voice". We get so busy with our "busy-ness" we often sweep away the thought, "Oh I should call____" , you can fill in the blank. One of the many reasons we were drawn back to Anacortes, after moving away for a time, was because of relationships we have here. Since coming back, we have had so many opportunities to serve, particularly in our church, that we feel this is really where we belong.

I was so blessed yesterday when a friend of mine called me to ask if I would just spend some time with her while she went to get her haircut. It just so happened that I needed a haircut too and since coming back I wasn't able to connect with my old hairdresser. We began to talk about how God prompts us to do things and we often have doubts that anything positive will come of it, and we are surprised when He does something great! Why are we so amazed anyway? The Lord is leaving His fingerprints everywhere, we just need to open our eyes and realize that they can be huge and they can be small. They are there when we have open hearts and eyes to see.

I don't really have a specific photo for this post but I came across this picture of my son with his Grandpa soon after we arrived in Kansas. Just classic... a grandpa showing a "city kid" how to fish! Notice the matching hats?

SPRING CANDY = HAPPY FEELING

2009-03-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Or maybe I should call this "hoppy feeling"!. Last week, Rozanne Paxman of Scrap Girls posted a challenge to take a picture of the first thing you see that makes you smile. I had just looked out this old dish I bought many years ago and filled it with Dove chocolate eggs, my very favorite"grocery store" chocolate. I couldn't believe how much better the EGGS taste than the SQUARES for some reason. These are now gone, but I'm going to have to stock up before Easter is over.

If you decide to take part, here is the link to her blog "Life Muses By Ro". Because she is the CEO of Scrap Girls.com, I felt that I needed to use a few of my Adobe Photoshop Elements tools to spruce up my picture. Check out her site if you are at all interested in learning how to digital scrapbook!

What makes you hoppy, oh I mean HAPPY?

COLORFUL SEATTLE

2009-03-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

I'm being a little flip with my title because our last weekend excursion there seemed to be anything but colorful. Recently, we bid on and won tickets at a local charity auction, to the Seattle Symphony and a nights stay at the downtown Seattle Sheraton Hotel. I can't remember the last time I've spent an extended time in Seattle even though we live only an hour and a half north of the city. The traffic congestion usually scares us away. Well, we went a couple of weekends ago and it pretty much rained the whole time and the wind blew. The weather did exactly what everyone says it does in Seattle! Our course we are used to it, having lived in this area for years and we know when the sun shines it is a glorious day!

Being from such a small town, I was amazed at all the crowds of people that were outside despite the icky weather. Northwesterners are a hardy lot! If we stayed inside and waited for the sun to shine we would never get out. As we went about and visited the local tourist areas I sought out to find some color. By the way, the symphony was outstanding!

My most colorful photo. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, a feast for the eyes on a dreary day.

They still throw the fish up to be wrapped and the guys sing a song at this fresh seafood stand.

Oh, this isn't very clear, but it was great to see Nemo, Dory and Marlin together... but I thought they rescued Nemo from the fish tank?!

Just as we were leaving the aquarium to go home, the sun did make a quick appearance as this state ferry cruised into the harbor.

How, I wish I had taken pictures of the fresh flowers, so many of those. We'll have to go back in July or August when we can take our time and enjoy the summer sun!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-03-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

Is today really the first day of Spring? I guess it must be because I can hear the birds singing in the woods behind me. Oh thank you Lord for the promise of warmer days ahead.

I wasn't sure what to write about today, but right on my MSN home page, there is a picture of the tulip fields in Mount Vernon, Washington, in a picture essay called "12 Scenic Spots to Ring in Spring". The link is here. The Skagit tulip fields are even listed as "1000 places you should see before you die". I am 10 minutes away from them, wow! So if you ever in this area in the month of April make sure to go see this spectacular site of God's beauty and see His fingerprints all over His creation.

I went through my old scrapbooks and then scanned this 10 year old picture of me and my son in the tulip fields. I will definitely be going this year, as I was in Kansas last Spring (their best season I might add), and I think I need to take an updated photo since my son is now twelve! Yes, I've been back since this was taken but I love the way the human element gives it a sense of scale and shows the wide extent of the fields. This is only one of many tulip farms in the area.

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.

THERE IS A WORLD OUT THERE NECKLACE GIVEAWAY CONTEST #2

2009-03-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

My first giveaway/contest was so much fun last month, I've finally gathered my thoughts and put together another one. This one will be drawn April 11th, 2009 at 12 noon and it is open worldwide.

"Island Girl"

This fine silver pendant is handmade from Precious Metal Clay. I use a paper pattern I've drawn, roll out the clay and cut around the shape. The piece is left to dry, sanded and then fired to be 99.9% pure silver. I then give it a patina and polish the high spots. Click on the photo for more details in my shop.

Here are the contest rules to win this beautiful "Island Girl" necklace 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 (shown below).

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 the day before Easter, April 11th 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.

WHERE IN THE WORLD PHOTO:

Have fun guessing and try to get outside to enjoy all the beautiful spots in your part of the world!

By the way, if you can't wait for the contest to end, this necklace is available for purchase. Just click on the necklace photo to go to my shop. I'll just have to make another one for the lucky winner!

UPDATE: April 11th
Thanks to everyone for entering my contest. I've picked the lucky winner!
You can read about it by clicking here.

FOUR LEAF CLOVER - LUCK OR GRACE?

2009-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I KNOW a place where the sun is like gold,
And the cherry blooms burst with snow,
And down underneath is the loveliest nook,
Where the four-leaf clovers grow.
One leaf is for hope, and one is for faith,
And one is for love, you know,
And God Put another in for luck

If You search, You will find where they grow
But you must have hope, and you must have faith,
You must love and be strong--and so--
If You work, if you wait, you will find the place
Where the four-leaf clovers grow.
---Ella Higginson

I came across this poem this morning. After reading it, my mind immediately began turning back the clock to summer time over 30 years ago when I was 9 or 10. My friend and I would spend afternoons picking clover in her backyard. I guess it was just something to do on a lazy summer day, but her dad would also pay us by the bucket to pick the white clover out of the grass since it is considered a weed. We always seemed to find just a few four leaf clovers for our efforts. When we did, we would keep them and treasure them by pressing them in the pages of a book. I read this morning that they only occur at the rate of 1 four leaf clover for every 10,000 three leaf clovers although this is very difficult to confirm.

By Irish tradition, the Shamrock or three-leaf clover represents the Holy Trinity: one leaf for the Father, one for the Son and one for the Holy Spirit. When a Shamrock is found with the fourth leaf, it represents God's Grace.

Whether you believe in luck or grace (or both), my friend and I were very lucky to have found so many, and as a Christian now, I can certainly attest to the fact that I have received a great share of God's grace!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

HAPPY SATURDAY!

2009-03-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Whew that was a tough week! Here's to hoping you get some time to relax and recharge this weekend. Just look to your pet for an example, they are the experts at relaxation!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-03-13T09:11:00.001-07:00

Our small town. Not only did God go into overtime creating natural beauty here in Anacortes WA, but yesterday I experienced anew why I love to live here and thank God for bringing us back.

Yesterday was a rare occasion when I picked up my son from school. After turning off my car to wait for him, I attempted to start it again and there was just NOTHING. Do you know that sinking feeling that you get when you know something is really wrong and you're really stuck? That's what I felt, and being in the back of the school there was no one around to help me.

The first thing I did was call my husband, but he works an hour away and was in a meeting. The only thing I could think to do was call the guys at Anacortes Automotive where I regularly take my car. And bless his heart, this man drove to the school within 5 minutes and gave my car a jumpstart. I wanted to give him a giant hug right there! The rest of the afternoon was spent dealing with the car and experiencing help from some guys at Napa Auto Parts who went way beyond "the call of duty". I couldn't stop thinking about how, if I was in big Kansas city where I didn't know anyone, I would not have had this kind of service or special treatment.

Thank you Lord for the "angels" you sent to help me yesterday and for allowing us to return to this special community! The way in which God allowed us to come back is a whole other Fingerprint for another day.

By the way, the first photo is Mount Baker. I drove up to a place called Cap Sante and took these this pictures this morning. If I turn about 180 degrees I see the view that's in the second photo of the marina, the city and the San Juan Islands in the background. Just breathtaking! My son sees Mount Baker from his classroom everyday. Talk about temptation to daydream in class!

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.

AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER

2009-03-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's me. I attempted to take a photo of the full moon last night with my little point and shoot camera. We had a rare clear sky and I could see it poking through an opening in the trees. This photo really doesn't do it justice, because well, I'm an amateur. The funnier picture may have been me in my PJ's and slippers standing out on the snow covered deck at 10:30 PM in below freezing weather! Brrr...

THIS BLOGGING LIFE...

2009-03-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

I received a blog award yesterday which got me to thinking about this blogging life. Before I started a blog, I didn't even know what one was. I might have stumbled upon a few in my net surfing while researching different topics, but never thought much about how much a person's heart and soul is poured into it. Blogging is its own little world, a social network of people who link their lives through their daily writings that I had no idea existed. I think that's why we bloggers treasure your comments so much. We like to know that we are providing interesting, relevant content and most of all to be acknowledged that someone is actually reading it!

When I started selling my jewelry online, I kept hearing, "You need to start a blog to drive people to your shop and so they can get to know the artist behind the product". Well, since then I believe it has become more than that to me. I've met some wonderful people, some of them who faithfully read my blog and leave comments. I look forward to their posts and seeing what is going on in their lives. When I started, I vowed to never post pictures of my child, my husband or myself, and I haven't done much of it yet, but I may dare to venture into that territory just because all of the people I've met so far are so sincere.

Now, for the "Love ya "award. GinabeeCreations and Musings gave this to me saying that my blog is interesting to read, thanks Ginabee!

Now I'll pass it on to two fellow bloggers who have blogs that are a great read and always leave me with a smile on my face:

1. Sharla of Beaded Tail

2. Beki of Pampering Beki

One more thing...A Photo Meme:

A while back I was tagged with a photo meme by Beaded Tail and Sally's Cards. I was to go to the sixth picture folder and find the six picture. This is what I found and actually blogged about it before, but it's worth posting again. When I lived in Kansas City for a year and half, the weather really intrigued me and I frequently shot pictures of the sky. This was a day in June around 5 pm when all of a sudden a beautiful sunny day turned into a very nasty rain storm. You can read about it if you click here. This is one is a series of photos I took of the deteriorating weather.

Here's to happy blogging, whether you're a reader or a writer!

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY, CATS & FINISHING PROJECTS

2009-03-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

Today, since it's Motivational Monday I thought I'd show you a knitting project that I finally finished after 2 1/2 months! I finished steam blocking it yesterday and laid it out in the dining room to dry. This morning I went to take a photo of it for my post and surprise, surprise a naughty cat was sitting smack dab in the center of the table! Thanks Ace for making my photo more interesting. Now, shoo!

Here it is below, sans Cat, and the original photo from the book shown in blue. The pattern book is by Norah Gaughan Collection Vol.3 for Berrocco Yarns. I used Berocco Pure Merino which is so soft you wouldn't even think it is wool. I did make the sweater 2" longer than the pattern and had to resize it between a small and a medium because of my yarn tension but that's a whole other story (and why it took so long!).

And now, I'm going to sew on the buttons and wear it because look at what it's doing outside!

I know finishing a knitting project is not going to "save the world" but hopefully you'll be inspired to pick up something that you haven't quite got around to finishing yet.

Here's some quotes on Persistence:

B.G. Jett: "If the word quit is part of your vocabulary, then the word finish is likely not."

James Whitcomb Riley: " the most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come."

THINKING ABOUT SPRING

2009-03-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

As the snow is gently falling outside and we are getting ready for Spring forward on our clocks tonight, something just doesn't seem right! It should feel like Spring! It's time to put our turtleneck and sweaters away and put on some short sleeves already.

In anticipation of warmer days ahead, I was inspired to incorporate leaves and flowery blooms into some new necklace designs. I noticed that I had three times as many earrings in my shop, Beadin By The Sea, as necklaces. I do sell more earrings online and a lot more necklaces in person. I'm still not sure why this is so, but I do know that I wear more necklaces in the spring and summer because I'm not so covered up.

Since I enjoy digital scrapbooking so much, I thought I'd share some new necklace designs I've been working on in a scrapbook page format. I'm still having fun fusing fine silver wire and since I have a fascination with leaves I've stamped them as well. All of these necklaces feature either a petal shape or some sort of leaf in my anticipation of warmer, greener and more flowery days ahead!

Enjoy the longer days, and Spring will be here before we know it!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

2009-03-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, I wrote a post on the ups and downs of online selling. I'm not sure what prompted me to write it because I've been pretty happy with the way things are going lately in my online shops. Selling jewelry, helps me fulfill this "need" in me for creative expression.

My very wise sister in law wrote me an email in response to my post that had so much truth in it and made me think a little further about how creativity is God's Fingerprint.

The desire to create IS a God given passion. He gave ALL of us the freedom of expression and different talents for bringing ideas about as a tangible thing for the world to see. Wherever we look, there is evidence of this creative expression that God gave us. Some of us paint, write, dance, sculpt, sing, craft; I could go on and on. As creative people we feel so conceited to say, "I have a God-given talent" but really it is about bringing glory to our Creator when we use it. God's fingerprint is on all the creative work we do, not ours.

PS. This is a photo I took of my son, 8 years ago before the days of digital cameras. I forgot how cute he was and so creative. Wonder where he got that from ;)

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.

MAKING IT ALL WORTHWHILE

2009-03-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Just a quick thought today about selling online. As most online sellers will tell you, this sort of small business definitely has its ups and downs. A sale can come at any moment, anytime of the day and the only sign of it is a message in your inbox. How do you keep your emotions on an even keel when you may have a flurry of activity and then nothing?
There are days that you have a sale or two and you are ecstatic with excitement that someone actually likes your "stuff" enough to pay money for it. Then there are days when you think you may never sell another thing and you keep checking your shop to make sure it's not invisible and the worst part, start doubting your talent! How do you keep going when you are always on this roller coaster ride?

Here's how I handle it:

I've always had a need to create things since I was a small child. If I don't have a project going I feel like something is missing or "off". I will keep creating whether my jewelry sells or not. I love to explore different jewelry techniques and mediums and I'm always trying something new. The main reason I sell is because I just don't have enough arms, ears and necks to wear it all at once!
The second thing is Customer Feedback and this is a BIG deal for me. I usually fret when I send a package off, hoping that my customer will love it as much as I do. I was so excited last Monday, when my Etsy friend and talented jewelry artist, Shi, of Shijewels, loved the ring so much that I made for her, shown above, that she raved about it on her blog. You can read about it here. That one really made my day. And then, I found out that earrings I sold to a gal on Friday are going to be for her wedding. How cool is that? She even said she is going to send me a picture of herself with the earrings and the dress.

So that's it, that's what makes it all worthwhile for me. How about you?

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

2009-03-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd let my cat Ace make another appearance today to show us what DETERMINATION looks like. No matter how many times I tell him "NO!" or place him back down on the floor he just can't get enough of trying to grab a bite of my yarn while I'm knitting. It gets to the point where I place myself in a very awkward position and then I wake up with a pain in my shoulder like I did this morning. I am so close to finishing my sweater I am DETERMINED to finish it no matter how much he torments me!

Ok, this is what finally GIVING UP looks like, thanks Ace!

Alexander Graham Bell:
What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists...and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want...and are fully determined not to quit until you get it.

Have a great Monday!

TREASURY MANIA!

2009-02-28T14:05:00.001-08:00

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:

It is difficult to even get your treasury posted because there is a specific window of time when they may be submitted.
There are so many talented artists on Etsy that your chances of getting in one are low.
You have to have fabulous photos.
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

2009-02-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN EARRING CARDS

2009-02-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

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:

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

Here's what you need to get started:

Paper cutter: 11X17" size
Matte heavyweight paper or cardstock and a printer.
1/16" hole punch
Computer program that utilizes "layers" like Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0.
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:

In your progam create a file 2"X6.75"
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.
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.
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.
Print on heavyweight paper. I use Epson double sided heavyweight paper on my Epson photo printer.
Cut the long side first using the ruler guide on the paper cutter. See picture below.
Then cut short sides. I aligned a wave along the bottom so all the need to do is cut right next to the wave.
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

2009-02-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-20T09:36:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

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

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 worship You oh Lord my God

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!

2009-02-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

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

COMPARISON OF RING SIZING CHARTS

2009-02-06T15:18:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

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!

WHERE IN THE WORLD PHOTO #2... AND GIVEAWAY CONTEST

2009-01-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

As a reminder to everyone, in the lower right is last week's Where in the World photo #1. It was taken at the Liberty Memorial and World War 1 Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. What is so interesting about this place is that it is only American museum solely dedicated to preserving the objects, history and personal experiences of WW1. If you visit you will find it a very interactive educational experience that will leave you emotionally moved. More information can be found by clicking he re. You can also take an elevator to the top of the memorial for a spectacular 360 degree view of Kansas City.

For this week's photo we will go somewhere a little more exotic. Anyone know where this was taken?

Where in the World Photo #2:

Let's go over the contest rules to win my Argentium Sterling silver "Modern Simplicity" earrings from my shop Beadin By The Sea on the left:

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

Feb 4th UPDATE: If you'd like a hint where this is or to see next week's photo #3 and another chance to enter click here.

FUSING FINE SILVER

2009-01-27T11:04:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post today. I got some more wire from Rio Grande to play with yesterday. This time it is Fine Silver wire for fusing. Last summer, I bought a book called "Silver Wire Fusing" by Liz Jones and had dabbled with it a little. I really wanted to try soldering silver this year, but I thought I'd give fusing fine silver wire an honest effort first as I have most of the tools necessary from working with PMC.

After making all of these rings last night in gauges ranging from 14 to 18 gauge, I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. It certainly is different fusing fine silver wire than firing PMC. They are both done with a micro torch, but when firing precious metal clay you have to be very careful not to let the silver get to that melting and shimmering point. So it's a little alarming for me to see the fine silver get "flowy". I guess I feel like it's going to curl up in big messy ball and have to be thrown in the scrap pile! Now I have lots of ideas for making earrings and necklaces. Here's what I've put together so far for my shop!

Here's to trying something new! I love these quotes on TRYING:

The best angle from which to approach a problem is the Try-angle.

Unknown Source

There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British statesman and philosopher.

MONDAY, MONDAY

2009-01-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

What is it about Monday that makes it so hard to get out of bed? My guess is that we have such a difficult time realizing that our weekend is over; the two days we get to recharge our batteries, spend time with our family and have the freedom to do the things we love to do! I suspect that even those who love their jobs find it just a little more challenging to be motivated on Monday mornings.

Monday morning grumpiness has been much more pronounced at our house ever since last September when my son started Middle School with a start time of 7:30 am. That's way too early for 12-14 year old kids in my opinion and me too!

Monday has really gotten a bad rap.
Here's one quote I found:
"Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life"

and Recall these songs:
1. "Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down" by the Carpenters
2. "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and Papas!

I couldn't find any specific POSITIVE quotes about Monday but I did find this:
"A year from now you may wish you had started today" Robert Schuller

Maybe it should read, "A year from now you may wish you had started today even if it's Monday" (altered by Me)

As I'm waking up this morning I'm trying to get motivated to start my day and create some new designs for my jewelry shop Beadin' By the Sea. I made a pendant like this one to remind myself of my love for creating. I just renewed it in my shop, to get it to the top of the searches, because it hasn't found a home yet. Maybe it would be better as a keychain?

Anyway, I'm off to do some more creating. How about this for a happy Monday motto:

Monday is like getting a fresh sheet of paper every week on which to create something beautiful and make your mark! by Debora

Try to have a great Monday everyone!

THERE IS A WORLD OUT THERE... GIVE AWAY CONTEST

2009-01-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

This picture I took of my cat Ace yesterday really got me to thinking that I really don't get out much. Since moving back to our small town, I rarely ever leave the island which is accessible by a large bridge to the mainland. The closest shopping is about 25 minutes away and sometimes it just seems so far!

I get pretty engrossed in my everyday activities, making jewelry, promoting my shop, blogging, and all the usual household tasks, and there are days that the only time I go outside is to check the mailbox. To remind myself that there really are some cool places to go and see in this world, I thought I would take every Wednesday to post a picture of some of the places I've been. I'll tell you the following Wednesday where it was taken.

I also think it's time for my first GIVE AWAY CONTEST!

Here are the instructions to enter to win my Argentium Sterling silver "Modern Simplicity" earrings on the left:

1. Leave your name 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.

Where in the World Wednesday Photo 1:

PMC...IT'S MAGIC!

2009-01-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

...actually it's science and some work, but PMC is a pretty amazing stuff. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, PMC stands for Precious Metal Clay. PMC is a rollable clay made up of tiny particles of pure silver, an organic binder and water. When fired with a torch or kiln, the binders and water burn away and you are left with pure 99.9% silver. I've been working with PMC since last Spring and I'm still amazed how you can turn a rolled piece of pliable clay into a strong piece of metal.

However, with all of it's versatility it does have some drawbacks:

1. It is quite difficult and messy to work with -some people just never get the hang of it or get very frustrated because it just sticks to everything! There are ways to work around the stickiness factor, though.

2. It's extremely expensive. The price for 25 grams of clay is about $35 which translates to $39/oz. Compare that to sterling silver which is about $11.46/oz currently.

3. Until I invest in a kiln ($650) I am limited to making small pieces that are under 1 inch diameter.

As I write this I realize there are times (Gasp!) that I wrestle with continuing to work with PMC. I have sold some of my metal clay pieces but I seem to have more success with my gemstone and Swarovski jewelry which can withstand a higher markup. With the high cost of PMC and the labor involved, buyers will need to more educated, before they are willing to pay the prices needed to make it financially viable. Here is the breakdown of just my Etsy sales. If I factored in my off-Etsy sales the "gemstone" number would probably be higher.

SALES JUST ON ETSY:

52% Gemstone or Swarovski

43% PMC or using PMC components

5% Other

By mid December last year, I was at a point where I had decided I would really limit my use of PMC. That was until I received a custom order and was reminded once again how wonderful this medium is. Here is a pendant I made for a gal's son for Christmas.

She had seen a pendant in my shop ,that was sold, of a different Hawaiian Petroglyph, and wanted a picture of a Kukini Runner. I was inspired once again to get out my clay. This is what I came up with and she loved it. Within a couple of weeks I had another request to make another one! Could this be the secret to sales, using the versatility of metal clay to engrave personalized characters or maybe lettering? I'll have to delve into this idea further and maybe offer some custom order listings.

As for now, I'll still continue my experimenting with different techniques of jewelry making. Recently I picked up a book that I bought last summer on fusing fine silver. I had thought about learning to solder but I pretty much have all the tools I need to fuse silver. With soldering sterling silver, I would need to invest in soldering boards, pickle, flux, soldering paste and the list goes on. Fusing can be a topic for another day, so stay tuned!

And as far as PMC goes, I'll continue to use it because, well, I really enjoy it. As long as it still intrigues me to turn clay into metal I'll keep at it whether it's financially worthwhile or not!

Oh, and lastly here is the magic of PMC. My finished jewelry using the unfired pieces shown at the beginning of my post all fired, dipped in patina, and polished. Click on this picture if you'd like to see more jewelry in my shop Beadin By The Sea.

IS THAT THE SUN?

2009-01-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

I guess it must be... I think I forgot what it looked like! On the way to the mailbox, I just had to snap this picture. I'm sorry I got the corner of my neighbor's rooftop, but this photo actually showed the sun's rays. I was excited to see my shadow and I almost took a picture of that too!

I know this is a silly post but if you live in the Pacific Northwest you can probably relate to my musings. There are times that I miss living in Kansas (where there is so much more sunshine) and when I am sun-deprived this is one of those times. Now if we could just do something about those freezing cold temperatures in the midwest winters. On second thought, I better stick with the rain!

I hope you had some sunshine in your day!

OH, THE POSSIBILITIES!

2009-01-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

If you've reading my blog at all you're probably beginning to know how my mind works. I have all these ideas swirling around in my head just waiting to be executed. That's why I was so excited to get this wire order yesterday and a new hammer from Rio Grande. It doesn't look like much for what it cost me, but I see it as a source of endless possibilities.

It's amazing what you can do with some 20 gauge Argentium sterling silver wire, a chasing hammer and a steel block! Oh, maybe I should have also shown you all of my 10 pairs of various jeweler's pliers, polishing cloths, tumbler, micro torch ... I could go on and on. And not to mention the AA Energizer battery that I used as a mandrel to make these earrings here. Sometimes it is necessary to rummage around the house in drawers and cupboards looking for just the right tool to improvise!

I made a pair of earrings similar to this last week and listed them in my Etsy shop. I showed them to my husband and he said "Oh, they look kinda plain". Well, to my amazement, they sold in less than 24 hours. That's pretty quick for Etsy, trust me. No, they are not some fancy cascade of jewels but isn't this what we like to wear everyday? Something that goes with anything and we can slide in our ears before we head out the door.

A year ago, I purchased all of my own findings. I never even knew that you could make your own earwires, not to mention hoops! Thanks to the help of many experienced silversmiths and Etsy sellers and their blogs I really have learned so much. This year, I'd love to expand on my bit of knowledge of silversmithing to include soldering. That way I can make closed rings without having to do a wire wrap. Oh, and then there would be even more possibilities! I already have many more ideas forming now!

If there is anyone reading this blog that knows of a great book on soldering silver or taking a basic class in the Seattle area please let me know by leaving a comment. I'd really appreciate it!

Meanwhile, back to playing with wire!

YIKES, I've been tagged!

2009-01-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

Now what to do?
First I'll give thanks go to a gal I've just met through the world of blogging named Magriet Moss. She has her own website named Babushka Jewellery Design. Yes, I did spell "jewellery" right. That is for the UK! She lives in Kent and designs beautiful handcrafted pieces from her own home based workshop. She has left me some wonderful encouraging comments on my blog which I so appreciate! You will find her blog by clicking here and her website by clicking here.

Okay... now the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write six random things about yourself
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person know they've been tagged

Here we go with the six random things (oh, where do I start?):

1. Both of my parents are British and I grew up in Canada. Sometimes I feel more British than Canadian. Now that I'm living in the US, I really miss the great biscuits like Peek Freans (I mean cookies for Americans) and the wonderful candies you can get in Canada like Licorice Allsorts and Maynard winegums. For my birthday and at Christmas, my family usually gives me a "care package" filled with all of these rare "delicacies" which I really appreciate.

2. I love Math! I know it's really strange but I just love numbers. I am able to do calculations in my head and I seem to remember number related things very easily. I'm not sure how useful this is except my son thinks I'm really smart when I help him with his Math homework and he's a pre-teen!

3. I don't like to cook. There are so many other better things to do, don't you think? I do enjoy cooking special dinners for entertaining guests and trying out new recipes but the everyday kind of cooking is mundane and I'd rather be creating something else.

4. I always have to have a project going. Whether it's knitting, sewing, home decorating, digital scrapbooking or keeping up with jewelry designs for my shop, if I'm not creating something I feel like there is something wrong with me.

5. I definitely got my creative gene from my Mom. She sewed all of my clothes for me and my sisters while growing up. I think she must have bought yards of the same fabric because she would dress us in all the same outfit but just in different sizes. Since I was the smallest I could wear the same outfit for years! Seriously though, I don't remember getting a lot of hand me downs! I would sit and watch her sew until I could start making things myself.

6. I've had my jewelry shop online for almost 9 months now and I still get so excited when I get a sale! I get such a thrill when someone buys one of my designs because it is something that I just love to do. I've heard it described as a "transfer" of delight". I delight in each piece of jewelry I make and my hope is that each person who receives their purchase shares the same delight in wearing it.

Well, there you have it! Thanks Magriet, I was wondering what to blog about today...

Here are the six blogs I will tag:

1. Shi of Shi Jewels
2. Sharla Of Beaded Tail
3. Rozanne of Scrap Girls
4. Kim of ForeverWherever
5. Julie of Oak Leaf Hollow Primitives
6. Jennifer of Deckled Edge Bindery

This is a great way to get to know one another!