BLACK FRIDAY SALE!!

50% off all hoop earrings this Black Friday weekend through Cyber Monday. See my shop for details.

Miami and Great Friends

A while back, I was trying to remember the first thing I made in jewelry and how I got started. One of my dearest, oldest friends, Rhonda, reminded me that it was a beaded ring kit that we played with on a plane to Miami in 2001. That's right! A small kit, packaged and designed to catch a teenager's eye caught my eyes at Michael's craft store one afternoon. Always one to thwart boredom, I thought of the two of us, weaving rings together on the flight to south FL during my spring break from grad school. And, we did. In between the vodka tonics (I was a bit of a partier back then ;-) and laughter on board, we kept ourselves occupied for the flight there.
From there, I don't know how it evolved, but I went back to Michael's and started perusing their small shelves of plastic and glass beads. Little baubles in reds, pinks, opalescent blues- so many ideas my head spun.
That summer, I was all too excited to show off the bracelets and anklets I was making and before long, I was passing them out to everyone at work.
When my other, dearest, oldest friend from college, Carrie, got wind of this she nudged me, "You shouldn't give them away. You should sell them." She is quite financially astute and knows an opportunity when she sees one. I remember waving my hand at her, guffawing, "No one's going to buy them." How little confidence I had in myself. With her encouragement, I started selling little bracelets, small earrings, etc. for about $7-$20 per item. I was hooked!
I laugh, thinking back to Carrie's nudging and Rhonda's memory of the things I've made over the years. When I think about other hurdles I'd like to jump in my jewelry business, I try to remember where I started and how far I've come. It still inspires me.
On the eve of Thanksgiving, I am pondering what I am thankful for this year and beyond the usual friends, family, health, etc. I am most thankful for the art of creativity. Without the ability to create new things each day, I think my soul would die and I would go into a deep depression. I am so grateful God passed on this gift to me and that each day he invigorates my passion to find and create even more incredible jewelry.

Internet Overload?

Well, if Jeannie's a beadaholic, I'm an internetaholic. I just made that realization this morning after my ritual of brewing my coffee and climbing back on the bed with my laptop to surf. I'm surprised I fed the cat.
The internet is so full of wonderful colors, words and pictures... it gives me a definite high to anticipate what I will find each day.

What celebrity recently died that will be plastered on MSN for days? Notice how those who lived their lives thumbing their noses at politicians or being jailed for drugs or assault are suddently propelled to sainthood when they die?
CNN is good for whichever freak recently killed someone in a scene remeniscent of Chainsaw Massacre. This, too, will go on with followups for days that you just can't help read, watch witness videos, etc.

Then there's DearAbby. Good ol' DearAbby. One doesn't have to search for the Living section in their local newspaper (after driving to the corner market to fetch the paper in the rain!)just to read the sage advice of this woman. She's right there on dearabby.com and her liberal advice is wise, but eyebrow raising for someone of her age. I guess she's seen it all, though.

Stumbleupon. Have you discovered stumbleupon? What an incredible toolbar that transports you to sites you'd never discover otherwise. Cool puzzles, great recipes or incredible photography by people who would otherwise be obscure. Then there are the funny ditties you come upon, especially from youtube. My current favorite is the quirky Bo Burnham

Now, don't even get me started on what you can do with your credit card on the internet! QVC be damned at what the internet has done for all those impulse buyers. Okay, okay, I'll admitt, this is a problem I have myself. I have to hold myself back from each new handbag I come across or that newest bohemian blouse on Boston Proper. Thankfully, the internet also allows you to check out your bank statments and pay bills, which is good at dampening that urge for the new handbag.

And email.... what would we do without email? We'd actually have to pick up the phone and call one another like we did ten years ago!! Who wants that?

Yes, there are some things that keep us out of touch with each other and definitely some controversial things about the internet that I didn't even touch on here. But, all in all, the internet has provided an incredible source of information and technology to everyone. Well, I now have to go and see what 'Carolyn Hax' has to say in her column.... catch ya'll later.
Alyson

PMC...A Silver Designer's Dream

Well, there Jeannie and I go again, thinking alike! She's all caught up in her new lampworking and I've finally started my love affair with PMC (Precious Metal Clay), which I have been wanting to learn for over two years. Nothing better than learning something new to get your creative juices going.

Last week, I took a trip to Young Harris, GA to the William Holland Lapidary School where I was finally able to take a course in PMC under the fabulous team of Mary Ann and Ken Devos. I received my certification in this medium thanks to the intense week-long course.

PMC (or Art Clay as it's sometimes referred to) only became available just over ten years ago. It came out of Japan through the Mitsubishi corporation (funny to learn they make more than cars). The medium comes in several forms including clay, paste, syringe and sheet. In the most basic terms of explanation, the clay has tiny particles of fine silver (or gold, depending on the metal) that when fired turn into a striking fine piece of metal. Due to its malleability and myriad of use, this is a creative designer's dream. On top of that, one can also paste over leaves, twigs, and other various natural forms to solidify them in a beautiful silver piece of art, probably my most favorite thing about the medium.

One of the simplest pieces I made during the week were the rectangular earrings at the top of the page. Another exciting thing about PMC is that it picks up textures and molds very easily to reveal incredible detail. Our instructor told us we'd never look at objects the same again and she's right; last night while peeling an avacado, I had an impulse to save the skin, thinking it would make a great texture to use with the PMC.
Other exciting things PMC can be used for is to make these cute little containers, hollow beads or sculptures. Not really sure what this turned out to be, but I love the angel I carved on the front of it. Others in the class made little amphoras, bird houses and tea pots. So cute and versatile!


I've had a difficult time making rings in the past with just wire and beads. No more! With PMC, you can make the most incredible rings and embellish them with stones, embed them with texture or "syringe" or carve your own designs. It makes the most incredible fine silver rings with a smooth finish like I've never seen.

Lastly, and as mentioned before my most favorite, this is a twig and leaf spoon that I made during the class. Ultimately, I ended up wire-wrapping them to each other, but one can also paste them together and refire. This is actually a gift for someone (whom I hope doesn't read this blog :-)

As Jeannie mentioned in her previous blog, trying new things can be expensive. On top of the cost of the clay, I will also be investing in a kiln and a tumbler. BUT, this is something I've been wanting to do for a few years now, so the cost is expected and it will eventually (hopefully) pay itself back. Can't wait to get started!!

Aly's Etsy Favorites

Sorry I've been away so long! Jeannie never runs out of things to say, as you can see, but I seem to have a hard time getting thoughts together to express here...until today!!

To build on a blog a few weeks ago from Jeannie, I would like to add a few of my favorites from Etsy... either people I've purchased from or sellers I think are just fantabulous (trying to make that into a word like ginormous).

One of the first and probably nicest Etsians I met here was JennGee out of NC.
www.jenngee.etsy.com
Jenn makes the incredible Coffee Corset that's a reuseable coffee cuff to protect your fingers from that daily cup of Starbucks.

I've bought a couple from her and just noticed on her site that they are currently on sale. Get them while they're hot.









Another very friendly and funny Etsian I like on here is www.idiomsyncrasies.etsy.com
Idiom (don't want to give away her real name) makes these quirky, funny cards based on those aphorisms that someone you know always gets mixed up.

This one is by far my favorite. I bought a couple of these for a friend whose elevator is always on the wrong foot.... or you know what I mean.








Lastly, I'd like to present www.mollycoddlesoap.etsy.com
This girl makes these fantastic items...all out of soap!!! I purchased these as a white elephant gift last Christmas.

They were a hit, placed in a dribble glass purchased from Goodwill. Molly makes just about anything from food to household items. Incredibly talented.
















So, those are a few of my favorite things (and people) on Etsy. Etsy's like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get. Happy hunting!

Replaced J Lo with The Birds

Booth decor for craft fairs can be a tricky thing. You want your jewelry to stand out, but you also want to grab people's attention with your booth. I recently manned my booth this weekend at the Main Street Fair in Franklin, TN (amongst 250 other vendors, several of whom were jewelry designers as well). Luckily, the oversaturation of the jewelry did not deter people from purchasing at my booth.

I previously had a darker-decor booth with these incredible jewelry dolls that I got for a song when one of the boutiques I sold at went out of business. The one to the right I affectionately named J Lo. Her backside popped out perfectly and her outfit was just sexy enough to have passed for one of Prince's backup dancers. She had three other sisters on my table named Beyonce, Reece and Scarlette (the later two wore more elegant attire).

The quartet certainly did their jobs well by catching people's attention coming up the aisle. I had more offers for their purchase than most of the items on the table. So, although they were great eye-candy, they competed with my jewelry. I had to let them go :-( They are now housed in a friend's closet and I am $50 richer. (BTW, the manufacturer of these dolls is SS Sarna and they can be purchased at http://shopfords.com.concentric.com/sssarna.htm).

I have now been inspired by all the cute bird items on Etsy and have fashioned my booth after this. This picture is one side and probably doesn't do it justice, but I have little bird's nests and eggs (available at alphaneenee.etsy.com) as well as little birdies here and there throughout the booth. I still get compliments on the booth, but people definitely notice the jewelry more than they notice the decor.

My advice with any arts and crafts booth is the higher you can bring a person's eye the better. Jeannie does this well with her booth (maybe she'll show off a picture in the next post). I also do different levels on the top shelf using gift boxes. You can stack three different earring trees on gift boxes at three different levels, this way everyone can see each one without their competing for the space in front.

Along with the lighter shade for spring, the booth also has a scrolled wall art in the center that holds little bracelets for girls. At the back of the booth on the top shelf, though you can't see it well, are two boxes I've salvaged from the flea market and turned on their side. To the top, I've nailed branches and hung more earrings on these, which continues with the bird theme.

I love my new booth decor, but what a job it is to set up and take down at every show! However, it is worth it and great fun at the same time.

Inspiration Scrapbook

I guess I could tell you about my child, too, but she's the four-legged kind and is very self-cleaning, so most of the messes I have to blame on me. :-)

Well, I guess this post will be a sort of project to organize that blessful mess, if it includes various newspaper and magazine cutouts like I collect. Personally, I am a magazine and catalog pack-rat. They set the magazines close to the checkouts specifically for me. Those gleaming, beautiful pages of perfectly coiffed gorgeous women with words that scream out at you, "Love Your Body! How to look great and feel sexy all the time!: or "Sexy Hair! Looks You Can Do". ('Sexy's' a very powerful word in the magazine world.) So, it's a good day if I get out of the store without a magazine of some sort.

What I have found over the years in my various collecting is that some articles and especially photos will speak to me while others I bypass quickly. To do my part for recycling, I will tear out those specific photos I especially wish to keep and organize them in a binder. This can be anything from jewelry to celebs in new dresses to a colorful sunset in an ad. The rest of the magz will go to work with me to share.

Recently I moved to another place and I realized I had a whole storage bin full of old 'In Style's I wasn't ready to part with. Even though I was trying to simplify and downsize, casting things off to Goodwill or for a yard sale, I couldn't bring myself to let go of those magazines. I'm glad I didn't. I am now starting on my second inspiriation scrapbook.

Magazines I especially love include 'Life & Style', 'Lucky', 'In Style' and various catalogs from 'J.Jill' to 'Sundance Catalog' and 'Boston Proper'. The great thing is that the catalogs are free and you can order them online. Lovely pieces of jewelry and wonderful artisans thorughout.

More than anything, these scrapbooks help me on those days when I am blocked from creating, but still have motivation. Looking through them will rejuvinate my creative flow and help me design something brand new.