Friday Feature: purple / pink

In honor of a couple of my newest jewelry shop listings, I've rounded up some purple and pink items on Etsy today. Enjoy!

Beaded Bracelet - Silver Links - Celestial Stars Moons Purple Pink by randomcreative

Beaded Dangle Earrings - Celestial Purple Pink Star Charms by randomcreative

Unique Hand made Rug. Wool Felt Pebbles. Multicolor. Purple, Pink, Violet, Gray colors. Size 55 x 25 inches. by DMpics

Lavender Purple Pink Cross Wall Hanging by 2GirlsForever

Purple pink Baby headband, vintage shabby chic roses by SAVANIboutique

Silky Chiffon Scarf - Gorgeous Purple / Pink Multi Watercolor Print by liacatherinestyle

Starry Galaxy, space and stars purple, pink, red necklace pendant by DevilsJewel

Are you a fan of the purple and pink color combination, too?

2013 Christmas designs

One of the toughest part about shows is keeping inventory stocked because you never know what will and won't sell from year to year and even show to show.

I had no idea that my Christmas designs, both new and old, would do so well this year.

But it's been keeping me busy this month. That's a good thing.

As many of you know, one of the things that I love about my customers if that they come up with some of the best ideas for new designs.

I hadn't made button dangle earrings in this style with Christmas colors before, but I had a customer at a show who wanted earrings with silver bells to match the coordinating bracelet. So here they are, in both silver and gold.

All of the designs featured in this post are available in the jewelry shop. As always if you have any questions about anything or are interested in a custom order, please don't hesitate to ask.

What have you been working on lately?

Friday Feature: black and silver

This Friday Feature is in honor of a couple of my newest jewelry shop items. Do you remember when I floated the idea of black and silver celestial pieces? A lot of people were on board with that idea so I went with it.

(Blue and purple sets are in stock right now, too. If you've been thinking about picking up any of these pieces, I'd highly recommend doing it before the holidays so you don't end up with a made to order wait.)

I've found some other black and silver fashion pieces that you could rock with these of these celestial items. Enjoy.

Women's Black Screen Print T Shirt Dress - Southwest Metallic Silver Feather Print - Wear Day and Night - For Her by sealmaiden

Ribbon Scarf Black and Silver Crochet Winter Fashion by krochetlady

Black Corset Laced Cocktail Hat by MindYourBonce

Black and Silver Diamond Lace Art Deco Clutch Handbag - Gorgeous Formal / Holiday / New Years / Evening / Wedding Purse - Christmas / Bridesmaid Gift by BonneAmieBoutique

Elegant Elbow Length Fingerless Gloves - Black and Silver - Crocodile Stitch Arm Warmers - Made to Order by ArtistBeeBee

Elegant Silver and Black Peyote Triangle Choker - A Sand Fibers Made-to-Order Creation by SandFibers

Do you ever wear or work with the black and silver combination?

life lately

Just a few of the things that have been going on lately...

I've listed a couple square sets in the photography shop. You get four square photos in each set. Choose from 5x5, 8x8, or 12x12. Of course if you'd like a single photo, a different size, etc., let me know. This first set is perfect for an artist, especially an artist who loves graffiti, street art, and/or spray painting in general.

There is a lot of "Jedi" graffiti at Solvay Coke. I took one shot for my brother's fiance who loves Star Wars. When I went back the second time, it kind of turned into a theme. I went with it and made these photos into a square set, too.

I pulled all of my beaded earrings from shows this year because my earring displays were way too cluttered. I keep getting requests for them so I'm bringing them back for the 2013 holidays. I've been working out how I'll arrange my craft fair earring displays to keep things clutter free and have been listing a few pairs, like these blue striped beauties, in the jewelry shop.

I'll be listing some new bracelets in the near future, too. If you want to reserve this piece now, let me know. I can adjust it to any length.

I have a lot on my plate this fall and am doing my best to work ahead on some bigger projects for the holidays so I don't get completed overwhelmed. I had run off a bunch of music sheets on card stock a while back and finally cut them up into earring cards a couple weeks ago.

My mom and I are hosting a shower for my future sister-in-law next month. Many of you know that I love to host and am so excited about this event. I've been making the invitations and will get them in the mail in another week or so.

I won TWO giveaways recently. I won the mug cakes cookbook from Catherine of Living the Gourmet and the rest of the stack from Valerie of Everyday Inspired. Thanks, ladies! I don't even know where to start, which is a good problem.

I took the plunge and started making green smoothies last month. I've been making yogurt based smoothies for a few months and was interested in branching out a little. Lindsay of Pinch of Yum inspired me with this post. I've made a variation of her recipe several times, and it's great. The smoothie pictured below is a spinach pineapple coconut smoothie, and it's really amazing. If you're weary about green smoothies, I urge you to give them a try. I think you'll be really surprised.

What have you been up to lately?

little late to the game

I titled this post little late to the game because if I'd had my act together, I could have had these new pieces up and promoted for Valentine's Day. I didn't. Honestly that thought didn't even cross my mind until I was looking through the BBA challenges recently and realized that I'd missed the boat. The good thing about these pieces is that they're versatile enough to carry you through many other holidays and occasions as well.

I sold the original version with this all red color palette nearly a year ago, but it's back now.

 

Whenever I create a new button charm bracelet, I try to make a pair of matching dangle earrings. I'm determined to keep this earring style in stock in 2013 and am introducing lots of new versions of it.

Both of these new pieces are in the shop. I've created a lot of single color palette button charm bracelets in the past few years and would like to branch out a little more in 2013. Any inspired ideas for color combinations with red? And yes, I've already done turquoise and red.

Keeping with my recent Polyvore kick, I created a couple outfits that I think work well with these new pieces.

Rose Classic Work by rose-clearfield featuring tulle coats

Rose Every Day by rose-clearfield featuring nike shoes

I'm using this post for the February BBA Challenge: Red.

Have you created anything in red lately?

If you enjoy this type of artistic challenge, blog regularly, and are looking for a new team on Etsy, consider joining the BBA team. We'd love to have you!

Newest article:
Easy Homemade Mother's Day Craft Project Ideas: Button Projects

Your Tropical Destination...Don't you need one this time of year?

When I found out that the March EBW Challenge theme was Destinations, my mind immediately went to tropical destinations.  There are no specifications about the kind of destination that we can pick, but I decided to go with this instinct.

I did order a couple new delica colors for this project and re-ordered a couple colors I had very limited quantities of to ensure that I had enough for this project.  I paired this with some well stocked colors from my collection.  I can never decide whether it's tougher to put together a big palette like this than coordinates or pull 3-4 shades that coordinate perfectly.  Either way, I'm pleased with the way this came together.

I'm sure that it's a big surprise that I decided to make this part of my wrap bracelet/necklace line.  I admit that there isn't a lot of challenge to this design for me, but I am still really enjoying tubular herringbone so it was fun to make regardless.  It also fit with my continuing goal for 2012 to incorporate as many challenge pieces as possible into my current price range and existing product lines.

I mentioned this during my sneak peek post about this piece, but again, the charm is from Kristina of  BorealisSeaGlass.  She has an ever rotating collection of beautiful sea glass bottles like this in her shop.  When I bought this one, I bought one more so I'll have another on hand for a future project (as of right now, that project is TBA).  I have also since found out how widely available these little bottles are online and would like to purchase some to make my own pendants at some point.

I've had this beach charm set ready for a while and decided that this would be a good a time as any to release it in my Etsy shop.  I don't fully embrace the flip flop craze myself, but I thought that it would be a popular choice, as they still are so popular.  We'll see how it goes. I have nothing against flip flops...really.  I'm just not obsessed with them. 

The new wrap bracelet/necklace is now available in my Etsy shop here and the beach charm set is available here.  Voting for the March EBW Challenge will take place in early March.  I'll have more information about that right here on my blog when it gets closer.

What tropical destination would you choose?

Newest Article:

Coaster Tutorials: How to Make Coasters from Fabric, Tile, and More

Looking for an older article?  Click here!

Where I linked up today:

I used this post for Michelle's Delicately Constructed Friday 3/2/2012.

in the works and Christmas designs

I am in holiday listing mode on Etsy now.  I'm not listing any other items until I get my remaining 2011 holiday items up.  I already got a few up this past week.

While I was making one of my recent sets of Christmas button earrings, I had a sudden inspiration that it would be neat to sell little sets of earrings.  I may offer more sets like this in the future, especially for shows.  I thought that it would be fun to start with a holiday set on Etsy, though.  It's available here.  I can customize this option with any colors.

I sold a bracelet very similar to this one earlier this year.  I wasn't inspired to make a new one right away, but I wanted to get it in my shop again for the holidays.  It's available here.  As long as this bracelet style keeps selling, I'll keep making more of them.

I'm bringing back both of my Christmas button charm bracelet designs and will be introducing two brand new Christmas bracelet designs as well.  Look for all of those later this month.

As for what else I've been working on lately, here are the last sets of buttons pins that I put together for my second fall show.  Both shots show the buttons glued, waiting for their pin backs.  I also made some more Christmas button earrings.  I have had handful of sales this month (all jewelry purchases in my shop through Christmas get a FREE pair) and want to have more earrings on hand for the show, too.

As you can see, I did decide to use a few of the large shape buttons for the final set.  My goal was to have 2 dozen pins for this second show, which I have exceeded, so I'm probably done making these for now.  We'll see if I get inspired to do a few more this week.

I've also been working on my December EBW challenge piece.

Now that I've finished making Christmas designs (for now...if the button charm bracelets sell, I'll keep making more), I'm putting most of my beading focus on getting this finished before Thanksgiving.  I want to make at least one bracelet Christmas present this year, which means that I need to stay ahead on some of these other things.

Also, for those of you who are planning ahead, this is my newest hub: 10 Free Christmas Stocking Pattern Tutorials.  (Looking for older hubs?  Click on the Crafty Articles tab!)

I linked this post for Michelle's Delicately Constructed Friday 11/11 and Erika's It's a Wrap - Link Part 11/14.

shop happenings: buttons, leaves, Christmas, herringbone, and more

There is so much going on this week that I'm fitting all of my in the works pictures and sharing some new items and other recent updates from my shop all in one post.

Remember my red/blue button mix?  I updated the old listing with the beautiful new bracelet photos and information.

This listing now includes a FREE pair of coordinating button dangle earrings.  I absolutely love those lower red buttons.  I had to include a couple of them in the bracelet, too.

This summer I was inspired by a set of red, orange, and periwinkle beads from Jen's shop.

This color combination just felt like something that needed to be in my shop.  And now it is.

It's available here.  I love how this turned out.  It feels very "me" for whatever that's worth.  Jen makes so many beads with this amazing periwinkle shade.  I never get tired of it.

Remember my fall leaf mix?  The longer bracelet is now back in stock here.

I got inspired by making the custom leaf earrings for my craft fair custom order so I made leaf earrings to coordinate with my fall leaf bracelets.  I would give you a link for them, but I already sold them!  I will make another pair to coordinate with my next leaf bracelet.

Finally, for listings, after some debate, I decided to change the clasp on my November challenge piece to a detachable charm.  I've been discussing my options for this with some of my awesome BBA teammates this week.  I was hoping to use a little split ring, but I ended up using a lobster clasp.  I was worried that it would stick out, but I really think that it blends pretty well.  My husband was very approving of it, too.  I may look at larger split rings in the future, but for now, I'm happy with the lobster clasp.

I'll have a lot more information about the detachable charms and the various options/versatility for this line when I officially release it in a couple months.  For now, I'm hoping that adding this option to the listing will still help with sales.

Check out the listing for additional pictures.

To wrap up, here are a few pictures of new things that I've been working on this past week.  While I was picking out buttons for new magnets and pins, I had a sudden inspiration to make a Christmas button embellished bracelet.  I hadn't made a double stacked bracelet before, but why not?  Here are my buttons ready for the bracelet.

I will have this bracelet as well as a few other Christmas pieces up and running in my shop before the end of this month.

Here's a peak at some of my newest button magnets and pins ready to be glued.  I'm planning to bring at least two dozen pins to my November craft fair.  The buttons tip really easily before they're glued so things are a little off kilter here.  The finished products won't look that way!

I picked out the seed beads for three new herringbone bracelets.
1) a Christmas wrap bracelet/necklace with a detachable Christmas tree charm
2) the flower embellished wrap bracelet/necklace that I mentioned in this post
3) my December challenge piece for the Arabesque Style theme
They will all use some combination of these beads.

I;m actually working on the Christmas piece first as I'm trying to get all of my new Christmas pieces listed before Thanksgiving.  Then I'll fit the challenge piece in this month in between other projects.  The flower piece can wait for the official herringbone release so it won't be a priority at this point.

New hub: 10 Unique Free Homemade Thanksgiving Centerpiece Tutorials 

I included this post in Michelle's Delicately Constructed Friday 11/4 Link Party.