Autumn Cleaning

I was a little on the sad side for the past few days, though I don't know exactly why, so I took a break. I didn't really make anything, I didn't write anything on my blog, I didn't post anything new to Flickr, or do anything to continue to get my name out there. I was barely on Etsy! I felt like something was blocked, and I was stuck in a place where I didn't want to be. After the weekend, my days off started, and I took a good look at my Etsy store. I wasn't pleased with much of it. In the beginning, my favorite pairs of earrings to make were these little bouquet clusters. In fact, these are the types of earrings I am making for two B&Ms that I am working with. But I haven't sold any in my shop for a while. I realized that it was because I had soooo many other things in my shop that they were getting buried under my own items! I came to a conclusion that there really is such a thing as too much variety. So I started to take out all the jewelry that hasn't been selling~ and those were the pieces that I was least proud of to begin with. I was left with a nice collection of pieces that I was really proud of, from the beginning. Then I started renewing all the bouquet earrings at once, to get them all in a high spot in the searches on Etsy. And you know what? After the past week with no sales, I finally got a couple of sales over the past couple of days after I renewed them. And the sales happened to be the bouquet earrings I loved so much! I have learned for myself the valuable lesson that is repeated in the Etsy forums~ make the things you love, and not what you just think might sell. You have to be able to be proud of each and every item that you have the privledge of packaging and shipping to someone.

Great Consignment Opportunities

I was browsing around the Etsy forums, and I was so lucky as to stumble upon a thread talking about Brick and Mortar stores. The thread was started by iheartnorwegianwood (www.iheartnorwegianwood.etsy.com) and listed a few brick and mortar stores that she knew of in her area that had consignment opportunities. She invited other forum members to share stores in their area that took consignment, or stores that their items were currently being sold at. She got an enormous following~ the thread grew to 11 pages! Later on, she drew up a master list of all the shops that were mentioned in that thread and posted another thread in the forums. This is the link to the thread:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5432829
I jumped at the opportunity to explore boutiques across the country. I looked on many of their websites, and even e-mailed a few of them, telling them about myself and my shop, and sending them images of my work. This really made my day, as I feel like I have accomplished something for my small business. It's better to try and put yourself out there, even if you are rejected, than to have never been seen at all. I've been hearing more and more about how even though Etsy is wonderful, it should not be your cole venue. To have my wares in any stores across the country would be a dream come true!

Sometimes Simple Is Best

I found a poll on the Internet about everyone's favorite type of earring wires. I was very interested in knowing what types people liked, as I love to focus on making primarily earrings in my Etsy shop. My guess all along was kidney wires or leverbacks. But personally, I love how the simple french earring wires look....and you know what? So does the majority of people. More than 50% stated that their favorite types of earwires were the french wires. I was surprised that so many people liked something so simple, when here I was thinking that I needed to add a lot of pizazz to my earrings by using large, bold earwires, such as the kidneys. So I have begun making a couple of pairs of earrings that have simple copper french wires.

I have chosen beads that are bright and sparkly, so they will be the focus of the earring. But at the same time, they will add a subtle, playful touch to an outfit, which is just right.

Handmade Earwires

I've written before that with earrings, the earwire is apart of the design of the whole piece. These days, I've been wanting to be a bit more involved in the earring making process, and this includes handmaking my earring wires. I've been using handmade earwires from artists on Etsy because they have some unique designs that adds a speical touch to my finished pieces. But I want to feel that I am putting my all into everything I make, and designing earwires that have perhaps my own twist to them is what it will take to put all my creative energies into making a pair of earrings. So I took out some 24 gauge copper wire, which I use just for fun experiments only, and tried several different type of earring wire designs. I found a design I really liked~ it's a spiral shaped, which is definately one of my favorite shapes, and I have added a tight spiral to the inner portion of the earwire. I will try experimenting much further before thinking of getting a proper gauge wire and actually trying to forge them into workable earwires.

Mad About Spirals!

One of my new favorite artists on Etsy is Solivio (http://www.solvio.etsy.com/). She creates gorgeous and whimsical earwires in both brass and copper. She has recently added a line of little spiral earwires to her line. I eagerly ordered some and went to work making earrings using them. Nowadays I have shied away from using factory made earring wires~ I like to find unique and handmade earwires, as they are apart of the overall effect an earring gives off. To me, earrings can be worn to create elegance, to create drama, or my favorite, to create whimsy. These spiral earwires definately create whimsy~ they are bold and fun!

Here are a couple of photos of earrings I have made using Solivio's earwires:

A Little Photo Editing

All this past weekend I have tried several different ways of photographing my white toned pieces of jewelry, most notably the white pearls. I was originally putting them on a white shell, only because I love the matteness the surface of the shell gave off. But the white on white was too much. Paired with silver, the earrings barely showed up in a picture at all! I asked my fellow Etsians about my different experiments with backgrounds for my pearl jewelry, from gray paper to warm amber toned wood. Someone then came up with a great idea to use sand in the shell~ it would provide a contrast, and actually go along with the concept of the pearls being from the water. I scoured my local craft store and purchased a bag of natural toned craft sand. The picture to the left is what I came up with, and the picture to the right of it is my original picture.

I was pleased with the way it turned out~ the background contrasts the pearls, but it is a softer color at the same time. Thank you fellow Etsians for all your wonderful help!

Eggplant!

I noticed this week that I was on a purple streak, as three of my newest projects had purple hues to them. Two of my favorites include Eggplant Leaves, and Tiny Eggplants. I was instantly in love with the rich purple tones of these lucite beads, and thought they would look really nice paired with brass. This type of purple isn't overly bright, but more toned down, like many colors that remind me of fall.

Free Shipping to Celebrate 1000 Sales

Yesterday, I reached my long time goal of selling 1000 things on my Etsy shop. I never really dreamed, two years ago, that I would make it this far. I started out so small~ listing one thing and waiting for days on end, for it to sell, checking my e-mail dilligently and finding nothing. From there, I learned what it took to become more of a steadfast seller, from taking good photos, renewing items, packaging my wares, the ins and outs of the world of the USPS, and the overall dedication (and optimism...and patience!) one needs. I think I still I have a long way to go, as I don't spend as much time dedicated to Etsy as I would like.

To say thank you to everyone, and to express just how happy I am, I am offering free shipping in my Etsy shop: http://www.cymbaline84.etsy.com/. I have many things that would make great holiday gifts~ now would be the perfect time to start your shopping!

I also wanted to show what I bought as my little reward for reaching 1000 sales. I've been eyeballing this piece for months, and am proud to own it. It is a watercolor of a single poppy (one of my favorite flowers), handmade by karenfaulknerart (http://www.karenfaulknerart.etsy.com/). I actually bought two pieces, but one is for a gift and cannot reveal it. ;) I can't wait to hang this on my wall! She has many more watercolor pieces in her store: each all about the beauty of simplicity. The brilliant colors really hold your attention.

Blue and Brassy Dangles

I was searching in the Etsy forums, and I found a thread from someone who was interested in buying earrings on Etsy, and had some very good tips for earrings sellers. Among those tips: she likes earrings that are elongated, instead of starting out thin amd widening at the bottom. I've taken a look at my earrings and see that most of my earrings have that particular quality~ the bouquet clusters do fan out at the bottom of the earrings. So I tried branching out a bit last night with these earrings. I've strayed away from these types of earrings for a while, but I do like the thin styled earrings as well~ they remind me of rosary chains.

Blackened Silver

I am really falling in love with the look of oxidized silver. It really makes the color of anything that is paired with it pop! I even like it better than bright silver, because it can look delicate and bold at the same time! The color combinations do not have to stay strictly with black and white. Any color would look amazing with black. I have found a collection of really eye catching lovelies on Etsy that I am excited to share.

This pair of earrings is handmade by BINAGEYER (http://www.binageyer.etsy.com/) . They are entitled Vintage Frost Earrings. The frosted beads, paired with the oxidized sterling silver, give off such a luminescence!

These earrings, handmade by ShopClementine (http://www.shopclementine.etsy.com/) , are have a wonderful contrast, between the bright yellow and the blackened silver. These are entitled Radiant Daffodil Earrings. What a perfect title for them~ they are radiant indeed!

These earrings, entitled Poppies...Vintage and Sterling Silver, has one of my favorite color combinations~ red and black! These are handmade by jewelera (http://www.jewelera.etsy.com/) .

Oh... My.... God. I am in love with these shells! On their own they are adorable, but their beauty is heightened when they are paired with these blackened sterling silver earwires.They are entitled Conch Earrings, and are handmade by clevergirl (http://www.clevergirl.etsy.com/).

I have tried my hand at making my own pair of earrings~ I have used oxidized sterling silver earwires and ballpins, handmade by http://www.e2ssupplies.etsy.com/, and joined them with bright white top drilled freshwater pearls. I call this pair of earrings Let's Dance. These type of pearls are often called dancing pearls, so I thought incorporating dancing into the title would be whimsical.

Spotlight on Strawberries

I was thinking about my childhood and came across a memory of going strawberry picking every June in a place near where I used to live. It was a big field, where you could just roam around with a little basket and pick your own strawberries. The place had a huge strawberry shaped balloon that would fly high above the field~ you can see it from a ways away while you were driving. That's what I remember most about picking strawberries~ the balloon! In honor of my childhood memory, I went looking for beautiful things that have a strawberry theme to them.

This art print is handmade by LaBerge (http://www.laberge.etsy.com/). I really love the details of each berry, and their vivid color!

Ah... soooo cute. This is a strawberry felted doll necklace handmade by Rosemary4Remembrance(http://www.rosemary4remembrance.etsy.com/). I am really loving the adorable face!

This beautifully photographed soap, handmade by savor (http://www.savor.etsy.com/) , is entitled Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I love the vibrant pink coloring...and well, it looks good enough to eat!

These earrings are from me, cymbaline84 (www.cymbaline84.etsy.com). I made them with my childhood memory in mind. I love how the brass and the bright red really go together.

Mixed Metals

With jewelry, I've always liked things to match. If I worked with glass beads, all the colors had to be similar to each other in some form. When I started to like working with copper, all the copper had to be the same shade~ there couldn't be a mixture of bright and antiqued copper. But I've been searching around Internet forums and discovered that mixed metals are are very popular.

Here are a few examples of mixed metals I have found on Etsy. I have these in my favorites list and kinda stare at them every day, like a kid who looks longingly in a toy store window.

This is a chainmaille bracelet made by MBOI (http://www.mboi.etsy.com/) . I love chainmaille, though I don't have any jewelry that has chainmaille in it. It reminds me of knights of Arthurian times, who wore chainmaile with their armor. It is a very epic medium. I love this bracelet because of the contrasts of the brass and the silvery steel.

This set of rings was made by kateszabone (http://www.kateszabone.etsy.com/) . There is a mixture of rose gold, which is beautiful pink, sterling silver, and yellow gold. Put together, they make a soft yet strikinng combination. I love how they have a hammered texture as well. They are simple~ there are no glittering jewels, and I really like that. They let the beauty of the mixed metals and the texture shine.

This stoic bracet is handcrafted by TammysTreasureChest (http://www.tammystreasurechest.etsy.com/). Not only do I love the mixed metals and its rustic appearance, I love the fact that its a cuff bracelet. I am am more into big chunky pieces of jewelry that I can wear often thatn the more delicate pieces. This utilizes brass, silver and copper. There is just the right amount of contrasting colors in this scheme.

In celebration of my new found fascination with mixed metals, I sat down at my own beading desk and created a simple pair of mixed metal earrings. I've taken beautiful brass daisy bead caps and accented them with a white freshwater pearl. I have contasted the bright brass with elongated sterling silver earring wires.

Blue n' Brassy

One of my favorite reasons I love working with glass beads is the amount of colors I can work with. One of my favorite color combinations is a rich navy blue that is paired with antiqued brass. Antiqued brass has a burnished dark gold color that works so well with the dark blue. I have made a few pieces that have this.

The necklace is lariat styled, featuring a simple antiqued brass chain that ends in a cluster of navy blue flowers~ it is worn with the brass ring in the front, with the cluster threaded through it. I like how the earrings turned out~ they are bold, swinging, and dangling. These, too, end in a small cluster of flowers. I was going to go with a streamlined earring, with three flowers in a line instead of the cluster at the bottom, but I love how the cluster has more visual appeal.

I am very much inspired and in awe of costume jewelry from the past century. If anyone is interested in this subject, there is a wonderful book out there called "Fabulous Fakes" by Carole Tanenbaum. It has a gorgeous array of pieces that the author has in her collection and has included for show in this book, illuminating what women wore in the past decades.

Flowers...and more flowers!

I've been pretty obsessed with flowers these days. There can never be enough colors for them. I've been working on a few projects for my shop that I'm pretty proud of. I've taken those awesome little lucite flowers and paired them with brass caps and Swarovski crystals. The frosted flowers go really well with the opaque brass. A couple of examples of these earrings are below: