New Stuff

This past week has been about a lot of new stuff and keeping busy. I have been spending a bit of money on jewelry findings and tools lately. But that's okay. I am determined to make my jewelry business work, and it makes me happy and keeps me busy when I am not at my part-time day job. With my pending divorce, this one-time hobby, now exciting business venture, and my strong faith in God is what really helps me get through the tough times, and I am sure there are more ahead.

Well, about the new stuff. I have registered for my first craft show. It is this coming November 22nd at my Parish church. I have been told that this may not be the best venue, but this is my first one, and as far as I am concerned, a perfect opportunity to start and get my feet wet. Even though I have been doing some research on what to do and not do with shows, I am sure I will screw up somewhere, but it will be a learning experience; and that is what I need, experience. I will take any advice and tips that anyone might want to give though.

I also have some new items in my Etsy store, link above and on the side. I am also posting photos on Flickr, still have more to go on that one.

I have purchased some cool new tools. One is this great wire cutter . It is a double flush cutter with a guage. It has these small holes that correspond with different wire guages and when you put your wire in that you want to cut, the cut is so smooth, you do not need to do any filing! I have tried it a few times so far and it works great. I still need to figure out all that I can do with it. It is rather large and a bit heavy compared to my other tools, but to me it is worth it.

I also decided to purchase a light tent, or table top photo studio. I know this one is probably cheap, but again, I am a beginner, and I have done my research on the internet. For where I'm at right now, this is perfect for me. I took a bunch of photos of my jewelry that I listed this weekend, and I can really tell a difference between the photo studio and just taking pictures with natural lighting. The only problem was that it did not come with any instructions, so I had to figure the set up on my own. But, with some common sense and patience, I actually got it up and running in about 15 minutes! And when you're done, it all folds up flat and has a separate little case for the tripod.

Gizmo, my chihuahua, is begging for my attention so that's it for now. I promise I will get into the basics of polymer clay for those who are interested, but really have no idea what it is.

Praying for Those Affected by Ike

Well Hurricane Ike has made landfall and has done its' damage. It's still going and going like the energizer bunny, but it is getting weaker. I pray for all those who have been affected by the wind and storm surge and those who may have been injured or lost their lives. I would also add that prayers are coming for those killed and hurt in the train collision in L.A. and for their families and loved ones.

Here it is,Saturday night and I am home with my babies: Gizmo and Angel, my chihuahua and cat. I will have to post pictures when I can find the best ones on my computer. Actually I will take new ones I think. My real baby, Jason, is 19 and at work at Carrabbas at the moment.

I've added some new items to my Etsy store. Unlike most of what I've been making, these do not utilize polymer clay and they are earrings, an item that my store was in need of. Also, I had these beautiful Sterling Silver ear wires that were begging to be put to good use. Actually, the ear wires are made of Argentium Sterling silver, which is sterling silver with a touch of germanium, an element that strongly inhibits tarnishing. You can find a large selection of Argentium Sterling wire and findings at Rio Grande. If you are a jewelry crafter and have not made use of this superb supplier of fine jewelry tools, gems and findings, I would strongly recommend checking them out. They will also send you their catalogues free when you register.

Well, until next time, have a great night and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

First Day-First Post

Well, here goes...my first blog, my first post.
The purpose of this blog is to talk about creativity. That of my own and of others' creativity. And, to avoid cleaning my house.
From my blog title you can figure out that I like polymer clay. I have been working and playing with this versatile medium on and off for 10 years and more. After making all sorts of home decor items and wall rosaries, larger rosaries that you hang on your wall, I have finally settled on jewelry.

I recently began selling my jewelry on Etsy.com. It wasn't long before I was invited to join the eSMArts Team, which is a team on Etsy to help other etsians, as we are called, market themselves, their product and their websites. Realizing that pretty much everyone else on the team had their own blog, and seeing the marketing potential, not just for myself, but my team members and others, I decided to bite the bullet and give blogging a try.

So here it is. I spent all morning trying to figure this out, went to work in the afternoon, and came home to get this done. Needless to say, my house is still a wreck.

Under Construction

Hello. This site is still under construction.
Thank you for your patience.