So Life's Been Busy...

Once again, I find myself apologizing for my 'radio silence' of late. It's been a rather busy week yet again, and I have little time for blogging! So much is going on in my life...

For one, my kids are leaving for the summer. My family is 'blended' - meaning all of our kids have other, non-custodial parents. (My husband and I are blessed to have primary custody at least!) Our youngest daughter flew out with her dad last Saturday, and the sons and eldest daughter leave today for Wyoming. (I'll freely admit, I'm going to enjoy being kidless for a little...a quiet house, a much smaller grocery bill, the ability to eat whatever the ADULTS want) Getting the kids ready to go has been long and painful, however. Not just in the sheer volume of clothing to be washed and packed, but also the time spent with friends before leaving, the summer-vacation-type activites that we've tried to cram into our 3 scant weeks, and the overall emotional tones to everything we've done. Frankly, my husband and I are exhausted!

Adding to all the stress, I've been working on TWO custom orders. I finally finished the first - a lovely coral necklace - last night. The second, a jade ring, will take another week or so. 'Cause I've got SO much free time.

Of course, my biggest stressor right now is my job. (Which I generally enjoy, don't get me wrong) To simplify things, let's just say I'm an engineer who makes computer chips...really small ones lately. In fact, I spent a large part of my morning trying to move TINY little 4mm x 4mm parts from a small tray to an even smaller tray so we could test them. They are this tiny...

So you can see why I'm not only stressed, I'm headache-y too. On the plus side, however...things are wrapping up with these tiny parts, and next week should be much, much easier.

Hope you all enjoy your 4th of July holiday - me, I'm sleeping through it. Catch you on Monday!

Giveaways!

Two bits of news this Monday morning...

First, since Vickie, the winner of last week's giveaway, did not contact me for her prize...we have NEW winners!
First prize - choice of earrings or art - Bunny B!
Consolation prize - $5 or 10% off my store - Dolls123!
(Both provided their email/blog address, so I'm able to contact them)

Second - starting this afternoon, we have ANOTHER great giveaway! This time sponsored by JLC Studio. You can start to enter NOW - post a comment about your favorite item from JLCStudio's Etsy shop, along with either an email address or blog/etsy shop URL so I can find you! Giveaway ends Friday - enter once each day!

Creating Custom Jewelry – a step-by-step mini guide

If you’ve ever wondered how custom jewelry is created, here’s all the answers you’ll ever need. Enjoy!

Step One: Get a commission. This is actually the hardest part – finding someone who wants custom jewelry, and wants it from you. Etsy’s Alchemy has been good to me, so have family and friends – but I’ve also picked up random orders through my website, my LinkedIn profile, and other places. (Friends and family are great for getting your feet wet, but they can only buy so much stuff. Branch out before you have no friends left!)

Step Two: Design brainstorming. Every customer has some idea of what they want – it’s your job to help them decide exactly what their piece should look like! My example for this post is a recent Etsy alchemy request. Initially the customer wanted a duplicate of a necklace: white ceramic beads with painted roses, brass pieces, and black silk cord. In the process of hunting for just the right beads, he ran across a different style – acrylic, and much more golden. This changed the design of his necklace entirely – these beads, while pretty, were too small to stand on their own. I grabbed screen shots of his focal beads, as well as some coordinating colors in other beads, and created 4 different versions of a necklace. The customer picked his favorite, a necklace with lots of brass and gold, and a little pink. (Give the customer options, but not too many. If you ask lots of questions up front - gold? silver? real pearls or glass? - you can narrow down the design choices to just a few. And that's much easier on you!)

Step Three: Shopping. My favorite part, both online and in-store. When you have an idea of the “look” you want, you have to find the right pieces for it. This means both the obvious focal components, but also the supporting structure – will you use sterling silver or gold-fill clasps? Covered wire or silk? What size and color coordinating beads? Shopping is divided into two aspects: first, an initial (online) browse to get pricing, and second the actual purchasing. My online browsing is critical – it’s what allows me to set a price, and meet all the customer’s needs. (Setting a price is a whole other post!) Fire Mountain Gems is usually my first stop for browsing (and some purchasing), just because they have a huge variety of items and a good search feature. Actual buying, of course, comes after you and the customer agree on materials, and the customer pays the deposit. (Did I mention deposit yet? Always, always have a deposit...at least 50%. This keeps you from getting screwed!)

Step Four: Design Layout. Once you’ve picked up all the materials, it’s time to create the final design. I rely on my beading board – with channels and inch markers – to create necklaces and earrings of the exact length my customer wants (and keep the mess to a minimum). This is where the artist really comes out – tweaking bead layouts, trying different shades of color, etc. Once I’m happy with the design, I take a picture for the customer (still in the bead board) for final approval. (Don't actually put the piece together yet. Some customers change their mind, and want different length/color/arrangement. You'll be really angry if you have to restring something 3 times)

Step Five: Completion. Once the customer gives the final thumbs-up, it’s time to string those beads. Depending on the type of request, this can be quick and easy….or slow and painstaking. My golden-floral necklace and bracelet request was fairly quick; however I’ve also hand knotted pearls and created custom wire-wrapped designs that took hours. Still, the beauty of your finished work is always worth it. I take a few flattering pictures, box the item nicely, and away it ships. (Taking pictures after is important - you want to remember what you did, but you'll also want them for a portfolio of your work, to solicit new customers. Trust me.)

Step Six: Waiting…. When you put hours and hours of labor into a piece, it starts to feel like your child. You do your very best, and you know that the customer has been happy with each picture sent. Still, until you hear from them, you just don’t know for sure if they’ll really like it. Nerve-wracking! And I will admit, I’ve shipped jewelry Priority Mail just so I wouldn't have to wait the 4-5 days for First Class arrival. (I don't really recommend this, it's an extra $2-5 out of your already slim profit margin.)

To view more of my previous custom work, please visit my website: TexasTesla's Custom Jewelry Designs.

Blog Contest! Enter now!

Just an update for everyone...

We have 19 entries so far - just 11 more to get a consolation prize added!

After much though, I've decided to offer the winner his/her choice of earrings as well as the option of original artwork. Your prize options are:

1. Stud Pink Spring Blossoms

2. Amethyst Makes it Better dangles

3. Choice of Cubical Art, matted and ready to hang on the fabric-covered wall of your office! (See one offering at the bottom of this post)

Don't forget - mention this giveaway on your blog, and get an EXTRA entry!

It's Been a Busy Weekend

And not just because of all the Easter festivities.

Saturday, I met a fellow Etsy jewelry maker - Rachel of Oak Moon Designs. We had a fun hour and some talking and bead shopping in downtown Hillsboro. We even hit an antique store and browsed the cases...and I found a vintage necklace I can't wait to repurpose! Great chance for us both to spend kidless time on a gorgeous Saturday - and I hope we can do it again soon.

This was also a weekend of finishing projects. I finally got the pearl toggle attached on my embroidered cuff. I won't be selling it- it's not quite perfect, but was a lot of fun to make. I can't decide if it's worth it to perfect my skills on this kind of cuff...it sure was a LOT of work! Still, I like it enough to keep for myself - it's kinda cute, if slightly imperfect!

I also completed a set of dangly earrings and a peridot pendant I've been thinking about for some time now. Pictures of both are posted here, and both are available for sale in my Etsy store.

Tomorrow will be busy in another way. I have several items to list in my ebay store (including some great Coach sunglasses), and I need to finish writing the Monday feature. Makes me tired just thinking about it - guess I'll head for bed!

I have been tagged…

Sophie at The Comforter blog tagged me on Monday, so I must share 7 random facts about myself. I don’t know if I’m actually that interesting, but here’s my attempt:

Me with my youngest 2 kids

1. In high school, I was a coloratura soprano (I could sing really, really high notes). Then in my senior year I did a concert with bronchitis, lost my voice for 2 weeks, scarred my vocal cords…and I’m lucky to get to high A now. I still enjoy singing, but it’s just not the same.

2. I’m a would-be fashion snob…if only I had the budget and body to actually buy designer clothes. I make do with accessories, mostly bought from Nordstrom’s Rack and eBay. (Kate Spade purses are my favorite)

3. I’m trying to get a designer body! I’ve been on WeightWatchers for 10 months now, and have lost 21 pounds. I’ve struggled a bit the past few months, but have recommitted and look forward to more loss.

4. My friend Emily and I went through painful divorces at about the same time. We both decided to do something a little wild, and that our ex’s would have hated. I’m not sure if she regrets hers, but I don’t regret mine! And that’s all I’m saying…my mom occasionally reads my blog. :-)

5. I miss my brother terribly. He’s currently in Sri Lanka (at the Consulate), and that’s really, really far away. We don’t even get to talk on the phone much. Sometimes I envy him too…he travels so much, and sees incredible parts of the world…but mostly I wish he was closer, so we could meet for lunch and talk politics now and then. That's him with his fiance Anne, somewhere cool. And his neat travels are partially documented here.

6. I think I’m addicted to books. I can sit and read and completely ignore the world around me for hours…and sometimes I long to get back into a book, despite what’s going on around me. Sometimes I wonder if that’s really a bad thing.

7. When I was little (3 or 4) I smashed my thumb in a car door. It was literally squished flat, and to this day the bone is malformed and larger on my right thumb – visibly so, if you look carefully.

I’m going to be coy about whom I’m tagging…will go check blogs to make sure they haven’t been tagged yet, for one. So any readers who are curious – you’ll have to look on my blogroll to find out for sure!

My BOGO FREE earrings

I made these lovely stud earrings as the FREE "get one" part of the PDX ETSY sale this weekend. I think they're lovely...

But since I don't have that many of the pressed-glass flowers, I decided I'd better make another version, so I came up with these...

Here's to a successful BOGO sale! :-)

Coming Soon - BOGO SALE!

PDXEtsy Street Team is having a Buy-One, Get-One sale this weekend, March 15th and 16th! I will be one of many participating shops!

Buy any item in my shop and get a free pair of stud earrings OR 50% off any other earring in my shop! I'm busily making the stud earrings right now, and will post Friday night - so what they are is a mystery. (ooohhh....aaahhhh)

To find out more information about the sale (and other shops participating!) check out: http://www.PDXEtsy.com/bogo0308.html

Leap Year Day - SALE!

It's the extra day of the year - time for something special! How about...20% off everything in my etsy store?