I knew that I had one of the EtsyBloggers blog carnivals for the December, but I forgot until today that it's for the 3rd! So I'm doing my post for it. :) One thing that I like to do for Christmas and my birthday is create a wish list here on my blog for my family and friends. Hopefully other EtsyBloggers are enjoying doing that this year as well through the carnival. I'm sure that you already know how much I like several of these shops, but hopefully you'll pick up a few new ones to follow, too.
In addition to making new button charm bracelets, I've been working on a couple more button projects this week.
One of my promotions for Christmas is that every order through Dec. 18 comes with a free pair of these Christmas button stud earrings. I've been going through them quickly and just got an order for a single pair of them yesterday so I've been making more.
I want to have some new button magnets for my stash before I set up my work for my co-workers next week. My larger buttons and buttons with novelty shapes (stars, hearts, clouds, etc.) keep selling out so I've been working on a few new designs.
The pair in the back are pretty dark, but the bottom buttons are a gorgeous shade of teal. I've picked out some more clouds and stars to work with, too.
This design has done really well so it's back! I'm making another version with Christmas tree charms that I'm planning to have up this Christmas season as well. The new one is on sale through Christmas. The Christmas tree one will be, too.
Also, FREE SHIPPING all day tomorrow for Black Friday in my Etsy shop! Happy sales everyone. :)
The EtsyBloggers featured seller for November is Cindy (DevineDesignsJewelry). You can visit her blog or check out her Facebook page as well. In addition to being a good teammate, Cindy makes lots of beautiful wire wrapped pieces. As many of you know, I'm in awe of a lot of the intricate wire wrapping that people do. I understand how to do it, but I really don't have the patience for it. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from her shop.
I listed my December EBW Challenge piece yesterday. The theme for this challenge is Simon and Garfunkel. I've been a big Paul Simon fan ever since I was little so there was no way that I could skip this challenge.
I talked a little about the background for this piece during my preview post, so stick with me as I recap for anyone who missed that. One of my favorite Paul Simon songs is You Can Call Me Al from his Graceland album. One of my favorite lines is "Angels in the architecture/spinning in infinity." It seemed like the perfect inspiration for a beading piece so I went with it. And this is what I created.
I combined beadweaving and wire work, which was a first for me. I have two strands of double chain links on the outside with charms. I have three right angle weave pieces of beadweaving in the middle. The one in the middle also has charms while the two white ones surrounding it don't to create balance.
There are over half a dozen different angel charms as well as chapel charms, literally the "architecture" for the angels. The tallest ones, which you can see prominently here, are 1" tall.
I think you have to see this piece on someone to appreciate how well it hangs. It's a very comfortable cuff. The charms do make it a little weighty, but if it fits right, you really won't notice it too much.
The beadweaving that I did was pretty simple, but it was challenging to put everything together for this piece so it wasn't too chunky and so that it hung right. When I started creating the different components, I honestly didn't know exactly how it would fit together. But I'm really happy with the final result.
And I have a handful of angel charms left over. I will most likely make a pair of earrings to coordinate with this bracelet. There will still be some left after that, so if anyone is interested in a different angel piece (like a more traditional charm bracelet), let me know.
If you've never watched the video for You Can Call Me Al, please go watch it. Even if you know the song, the video is still well worth it.
You can purchase this piece here. Voting for the December EBW Challenge will take place on the EBW blog December 9-15. I'll post more information about it as it gets closer.
I actually finished this piece several ago. But I've been burning out on taking jewelry photographs lately, so I didn't get the listing revised until this weekend. Here are the first two versions.
And now the third version is up and running. As you can see, the first two are pretty similar. I took a little different take with the third one with my remaining drilled sea glass.
The base is very similar to the base that I used in the other two, and the seed bead mix is exactly the same as the second one.
I curated the EtsyBloggers treasury for this week: EtsyBloggers Zoo. I was going to do something holiday themed, but a couple other team members have already done this. I'm honestly not sure where I got this idea, but I went with it. I love the result.
As some of you already know, the December EBW Challenge theme is Simon and Garfunkel. I've been a big Paul Simon fan since I was little. I still particularly love his Graceland album. One of my favorite lines from You Can Call Me Al (which is on that album) is "Angels in the architecture/spinning in infinity." That's what I'm using as the basis for my challenge piece. I got my angel charms in the mail earlier this week and started laying out the piece.
I'll have more information about the song and about the actual beadweaving/jewelry constructing process later. I just wanted to give you some background for this piece so you weren't left wondering what all of these angels had to do with Paul Simon.
I'm going to combine some beadwoven pieces with some charm bracelet style links, completed with a toggle clasp. I have never put anything like this together before. So far it's shaping up nicely, but it's hard to know exactly how this is going to go. I may hit a snag in the process, but I'm determined to finish this before the deadline. I can't miss a Paul Simon challenge!
I may post some more progress pictures or sneak peaks along the way, but I'll leave you with this for now.
