Trunk Show Flyer

Trunk Show Flyer, originally uploaded by stephgibson23.

Biting the bullet.
Doesn't "Trunk Show" sound sooooo much better than "home party"?

Click on the flickr link if you want to see the whole thing - I am much too lazy today to fix this photo.

Cleaning House

It is that time of year. Time to reassess. Time to clean out the closets. And you know me - I don't mean my REAL closets!

Between now and February 1, I am cleaning out the last pages of my shop. I want to get rid of all the things I am reluctant to renew. The stuff that's been there awhile. The stuff that does not quite fit the "look" of my shop.

Everything marked (HC) in the title is discounted 40%. Write "House Cleaning" in the notes to seller, and wait for a revised invoice. I will be adding new items to this list every day between now and January 30.

And a special offer for my blog readers: Buy any three House Cleaning items and get a fourth one free.

There are some terrific bargains to be had! Have fun shopping!

Photo Help

Ahhhhh! I cannot decide.
The brown background/the white background?
The white is a pain in the (beep) to adjust, but might get me into more treasuries. But no matter what I do, I cannot get it white-white anyway. Does the brown make my work stand out? Or is it too dark?
Please share your thoughts, and if you have time and are so inclined, please share YOUR photo set-up details - lightbox? natural light? camera?
I hate my photos!

Anklets?

Modern Bohemia Anklet - Silver, originally uploaded by stephgibson23.

So, I have never had slim ankles. Living in NYC as an intern with a daily food budget of $5, walking miles to the train in Hoboken, and miles across town to the theater I worked for, and more miles scouring the city for props, I lost so much weight I had the waistband of my pants rolled over three times. But still, chunky ankles. It has never occured to me to wear something that would call attention to this area of my body.

So, when Miss Fickle Media suggested I make anklets using richly colored pearls, my internal response was, "anklets? really? do people actually wear them?" But I think our Miss Fickle is a Marketing/Research and Development genious, so I gave it a shot. I wanted to combine pearls with czech glass, which was a knotting nightmare - all those different sized holes! The finished product also seemed too fragile to be worn on the ankle. I thought they would look beautiful wire wrapped, but that is very time consuming and would have required a price that I am not sure would have worked for a summer fun item. So I went with stringing on Softflex. I think they are very pretty and simple. I added two little dangling beads at the clasp for a little extra flirty-ness. I am not sure they really stand out in the sea of strung beads on Etsy, but I am trying out different ways of photographing them that I hope will make them "click-worthy."
So glad that Etsy makes it inexpensive to experiment!

Etsyversary Give-Away

I just realized it is the anniversary of the day I signed up on Etsy. To celebrate, I am giving away a pair of earrings. The game works like this:
Check out this earring section. Post a comment letting me know which pair is your favorite. I will put all the commenters names (along with those who post on my forum thread) in a hat and do a drawing. The winner of the drawing wins the earrings with the most votes. I will perform the drawing on Wednesday at 8PM. Any comments/posts before that time will be counted.

What A Big Day!

Just stumbled upon one of my necklaces in a Trousseaux to Treasure Collection. See it here.

And I was in two different treasury lists with two of my bloggy buddies. A brown pearl themed list with Ginger from MsBelle and an orange themed list with Maia from Glass Beach.

And since I am the lamest girl in blogland, I could not figure out how to get a screen shot. Not with help in the forums, not with help from Mac. Bah. So, if you are curious, click on the links above.

This Post Will Only Interest You If You Make Jewelry

I finally got my act together and opened a second Etsy shop to sell supplies. Right now I am using it to get rid of some of the beads and findings that have built up over the last 15 years. I am hoping that eventually I will offer some handmade supplies. When I break down and get a PMC kiln or get over my fear of torches, you can look forward to handmade beads, pendants, earwires and headpins.

In the meantime, fellow beaders, come check out Steph's Bead Box.

Beads4You Winter Beading Contest

I won the Beads4You Winter Beading Challenge on Etsy!

In this competition, judged by Rena Klingenberg, everyone started with the same set of beads. There were 2 categories: Only the Beads and Anything Goes. I won in the Only the Beads Category. So shocked and excited! ebbandflo won in the Anything Goes Category.

Rena Klingenberg's comments and her special mention selections can be seen here.

What a way to start the week!

Finally, An Orderly Space!

A couple weeks ago, I started this blog, and stated that I wasn't going to post anything else until I got my work space cleaned up. Finally finished it this weekend.

I guess I can start posting now.

Morning At the Bead Show

I spent the morning at a bead show. Exhausting, but very fun! I am finding that certain stones are becoming harder and harder to find affordably. Makes me think it is time to switch to glass. Didn't even buy any citrine, it was so crazy expensive.

But......look what I did get! Pretty, pretty, pretty. I am envisioning lots of chunky bracelets in my shop this Spring!

The pendants are created by Natalie Gillihan. I cannot wait to use them as the focal pieces for some wire-wrapped necklaces. Do you think I could talk her into opening a shop on Etsy?

Happy Etsy Dance

I sold my 40th item on Etsy today.

Woohoo!

"and that is significant because....?"

Just because I like nice round numbers, that's why.

Creative Challenge #43

I participate in Jewel Street's Creative Challenge that runs in the Etsy forums every week. This week our challenge was to create something inspired by our favorite flower. I really love bracelets with big, chunky beads and I also really love the low maintenance day lilies a former occupant planted in the flower beds in our yard. The colors of our day lilies run the gamut from very pale yellow to a deep, almost black, purple shade. Thus, the Day Lily bracelet.

Symbolic Stones Linkage Series

For some time now I have been meaning to create a series of bracelets in which I use the symbolism of stones to dictate my design. For example, a bracelet that includes all the stones associated with courage. Last night it occured to me that it would be fun to apply this concept to Linkage Componants. Here is the first in the series: the Creativity Linkage Componant. Combining five stones symbolic of creativity: labradorite, amethyst, aventurine, sodalite, and garnet.

Linkage

Yes, well, I am breaking that little promise below because I cannot watch American Idol and it is too late to tackle things like taxes or cleaning.
Thought maybe it is a good time to tell you a little about the Linkage Project. Linkage was started by one of my favorite Etsy sellers, lorimarsha. (If you have not seen her one of a kind clothing designs you are really missing something.) Linkage items are charms made from found/reclaimed/recycled items that can be attached to necklaces, keychains, zipper pulls, etc. Linkage is about making connections, reinforcing associations, striking memories. 10% of the sales of Linkage items are donated to the Alzheimers Association. This cause is very close to my heart, as I lost one grandmother to this disease and am currently watching the other slide slowly into an increasingly confused/disconnected state. I hope the Linkage Project will bring some attention to the importance of Alzheimers research.