Interview with a Spiritual Influence

Meet Meagan, a person I met on SwapSity.  Meagan knows how to say just enough and leaves you wanting more. Without giving anything away I can tell you I benefited when Meagan recently reduced her glass beads  ’stash’. As soon as I can I’ll be making some glass bead artisan jewellery.
H: Who are you in your [...]

Notes to Self ~ Pet Peeves April 6 2009

We all have them: pet peeves. Sometimes it’s really puny stuff that we should learn to ignore:  like being upset when somebody borrows something and doesn’t return it from where they got it ~ or sits at your desk and moves stuff but doesn’t put it back as they found it.
Today I have 2 pet [...]

Marketing My Artisan Jewellery Business

“How to Stop Social Media Taking Over Your Day

ONLY SHARE WHAT IS SAFE TO SHARE – Once you connect to people outside your close friends and family you need to restrict the information you place in these networks. If in doubt, keep it to yourself.
Observe before following.
If people are taking too much of your time, [...]

‘Knowledge is Power.’

‘Knowledge is Power.’ Important for artisan jewellery designers, or people who make glass jewellery as a hobby, the more you know the better you’ll do.  The more experience you have the better you’ll do.
Focus for the Day:  Well, today’s focus is on social marketing. I am researching organic marketing (that, by any other name is [...]

Great News – About Playing for Change

I promised myself I would write something in each of my blogs before I opened any of my e-mails. As always, I opened my emails first. But this time I’m glad I followed my usual pattern of morning coffee and emails. This time I found an email from ‘Playing for Change.’
That’s one of the [...]

Great News – eSMArties

MY FIRST ENTRY

There’s a new shop in town: the Etsy eSMArts boutique of hand crafted items.

Memories

Memory wire embellished with hearts, glass beads, and coiled wire beads: this is my first offering in a new shop at Etsy.com: the eSMArts Boutique.
At the Etsy gallery, where everything is handcrafted, a new boutique can be found. It is [...]

Niki.Tasha – Follow Up

 

Black n Silver Amulet Bag Backside

Well. I did promise to add pictures of the finished amulet bags and I have been remiss in not doing so.
I’ve received a slap up the side of m’ head, figuratively speaking, so here they are.
You will note, I hope, that these pictures don’t quite match the graphs offered in [...]

Notes to Self: A New Direction

Well, I did vent some hot air in my last Notes to Self: Bead Journal Project. I felt better after doing it, so the venting did some good. I still don’t apologize for the bombardment. If anything, I am grateful for the individuals who challenged the worthiness of my September bracelet submission.
 Why?
It made my brain [...]

Notes to Self – The Art of Gift Giving

We have no money. And Christmas is fast approaching. Already Christmas decorations are appearing in the shopping malls and Halloween hasn’t arrived yet. Every thing you see appears to be so ‘commercial.’
To avoid getting the wrong gift, gift certificates and gift cards are available at many stores, both in the ‘real world’ and in cyberspace. [...]

About Town – Handmade Jewellery

Look everybody and see what I’ve found!
 
Vanessa Glavac is a young entrepreneur who found a niche market; producing videos of basic techniques in beading. She breaks down each technique into easy to follow steps and, before you know it, you are creating your own artisan jewellery. Once you have these basic techniques you can do [...]

Technique – Flat Wire Coil

Here is another way you can coil wire and it doesn’t require a mandrel. Make one to use as a charm on a bracelet. Make a bunch of them and link them together to make a bracelet or a necklace.
 
  ToolBox
5in length of #22ga wire, round nose pliers, that’s it.
Technique
Bend the length of wire in [...]

Technique: Wire Spring Bead

This technique I learned from Jelcy Romberg; an enlightened teacher who believes that, instead of teaching a set piece one should learn a technique and then go exploring with it.  She espouses the philosophy that sharing techniques instead of copyrighting a design is what furthers an art. Add these Gizmo wire coil beads to spice [...]

Spanish Bracelet 1

Cuff Bracelet to Spain

Cuff Bracelet Going to Spain

My sister wants a trip to Spain. She needs to save a whole lot of money to get there. As a reminder, like the string tied onto a finger, she commissioned a piece of artisan jewellery that would act in the same manner as the string.
I’ve had an awful [...]