Is This Wrong?

For the holidays, I bought myself a couple of gorgeous necklaces made by other Etsy sellers. I am going to end up wearing threm wound, too, and considering how nice they are, I will get some compliments and some "oh, WHERE did you get that??" questions.  And I'll answer.

The problem is, every time I get questions like that, I feel like "man, I should have worn something of my own."  Then I feel like I am being disloyal to myself for not wearing more of my own work on a daily basis, but honestly, I make it every day. I LOVE many of my pieces, some so much I end up keeping them, but sometimes I want to wear something made my someone else that I never would have made myself, but I love.

I wish more people loved my work and wore it for compliments, but I know that time will come eventually.  Right now, I will just have to deal with my feelings of being torn by wearing other people's gorgeous work.

Trying some new things

Due to my complete lack of sales, I am trying some new things that I hope to be able to perfect and start posting in the new year.

Keep an eye out for it.  I will also continue to list my current items at a mark down.

AngelTree Gems

December Sale!

Ok, I have decided to extend a sale to all of my loyal blog readers (or anyone who stubbles here, I'mm not picky), and offer 10% off of your purchase for the entire month of December. This INCLUDES custom pieces.

Also, for everyone, as mentioned in my etsy shop, when you spend more than $50, I will give you a FREE upgrade to priority shipping.

Here's the link again, so you don't have to look it up:

ANGELTREE GEMS

I am still listing new things every day (pretty much), and by the way, yes, those sets that are listed as coordinating separates, and offer 10% off if you buy the set?  Yes, I'll stack the savings.

So, how was that for a lovely mercenary blog post? 

Coming soon: new questions for you and new ideas for me!

Weekend sale!!

Yes, It is true! I am oofering a site wide 20% off plus free shipping in the USA, and 50% off international shipping from Friday until 11:59pm Monday, Nov.30!

AND....

For all of you loyal blog readers, mention this blog in the message to seller at checkout, and I will give you an additional 5% off and a free priority mail upgrade on all orders over $50.

Just check out as usual with Etsy, and I will refund you the percentage and the shipping.

CLICK HERE FOR ANGELTREE GEMS!

Address Change!

This blog, in case you hadn't noticed has changed addresses, too!  I decided that I needed the blog to have the same address as its title, so we are now are ANGELTREEGEMS.blogspot.com.  No more trying to remember how to spell Coqui Ainjelfire

HUGE listing influx and sale

I am fighting the sinus infection from heck right now, and am pretty much home and bed bound, but whenever I feel up for it I am taking pictures, editing them, and listing all of the jewelry I made and have in my house. There are a lot of items never seen online before, because they are from my craft shows last summer and never got listed due to the move.

I will try to list at least a few items every day, with the goal of having plenty for customers to choose from come the holiday shopping season.

I am also offering some specials for my loyal blog readers: 

Mention this blog in your checkout comments, and I will give you 10% off and free shipping (in the USA and Canada, or 50% off shipping outside of the US and Canada) on your entire purchase, except on BLACK FRIDAY.

On Black Friday, I will give you 25% off and the same shipping deal.

Decisions Decisions

Ok, I have a lot of very nice jewelry and keychains that I moved with me from New York. I had made a whole bunch of stuff for a craft show that I did...well....VERY POORLY at.  A lot of the stuff is not necessarily the kind of stuff that I think I will carry with my new AngelTree Gems line, though it is still very nice and high quality.  However, with the holidays coming up, and with my just not having a whole lot of time to create since we moved, I am debating whether or not to take a day, take a world of pictures, and list the items at a reduced price.  Even though they don't really work with the rest of my plans, and even though they are not necessarily "holiday" items.

The other possibility is to spend that day where I would be photographing and make some new tree ornaments.  This would be significantly less merchandise, but would they sell? That I have so idea.

I know, I know, the jewelry is already made. Mark it down and list it.  You're right. I will.  I think my next free day is next Friday.  Right in time.

Thanks for the advice! ;)

Jewelry with meaning

When I make jewelry for myself, it frequently has a meaning behind it.  Maybe the color signifies something. Maybe it's the stone, or the design, or whatever.
With Coqui Ainjelfire, I had gotten away from listing the meanings of my pieces. I thought it might be a little pretentious seeming to take a necklace made of purple glass beads that I named Orchid and to discuss how purple is a color of mystery and nobility....but the more I think about it, that's what the necklace means to me. If you don't care, that's fine, but I do.

So, I have decided to start listing meanings on my pieces again. They're mostly simple and a bodging together of an umber of belief systems and theories, but that's OK.  I get a lot of inspiration from the world around me and put a little bit of myself into each piece, and I want to bring that to my customers.

Ok, Off of my soap box.  Thank you.

LEGAL!

I got my permit to collect sales tax in Texas on Monday this week.  So, I am legally in business. I have some listings on my etsy site, and as soon as I get a minute to myself, I will start creating and photographing again.

However, I have been inundated by phone calls from comanies offering me services.  I believe I already mentioned my issues with the credit card company I am dealign with, leadign to my not cancelling that account? Well, I have gotten over 15 more offers for credit card acceptance services. 

Just today, I have gotten calls about business accounting services, website development, and credit card machines, adn it is not even 11am.  I get 3-4 calls a DAY.

Now, I'm kind of excited I am getting thiss kind of attention, but where was this attention in New York when I had the time and wanted the business to be a full time venture? Right now, I am barely keeping up with my regular life and doctor's appointments!

*sigh*

In 3 months when I am ready to be really up and running, I am not going to hear from anyone again and I will be in trouble.  Figures.....

Keychain, Keychain, Who's got the Keychain?

Since my keychains are my best sellers, I am, of course, starting off listing a whole bundle of them on my new etsy site.

I love my keychains. I get high quality split rings and attach simple but pretty beads and charms to them. They are good quality, but able to  take the beating a keychain typically takes. I use glass beads because they have less of a chance to chip, and I can offer a replacement guarantee for 3 months where, if the bead DOES chip, I will replace it for free if you bring it to me, or you cover the shipping.

I also make custom color and charm combinations at no extra cost and am always open to ideas.

Here are a few of the keychains I have to offer:

And Laziness wins again....

So, I moved to Texas in August.  Today, I decided that I am SICK AND TIRED of unpacking and it was time to officially move and rename my business.

This has caused me no small headache.

Filing my final NYS sales tax report? No problem. I just have to mail the form and check.

Registering for TX sales tax authorization? Again no problem.

At this point, I thought I was on a roll....but NOOOOOOOooooooo.

Cancelling my old merchant account would lead to a $250 cancellation fee.

Moving my business bank account was no problem, but my new business is not the same name, and I cannot change the business name on the account. D'OH!

Fortunately, the business is under my actual name DBA Coqui Ainjelfire.

Instead of the headache of closing one account, opening a new one, and changing over all of the paperwork and business accounts, I have opted for laziness:

I will do business in Texas under my REAL NAME. This also saves me needing to register a new business name.

I feel like such a rebel, lol.

Of course, now I have to change everything online again. I'll probably keep the AngelTree Gems name and just say that that is my "jewelry line", so it will be AngelTree Gems by AMSE (My initials).

I have the old 80's some "Oh, me so Horny" going in my head but it's me so LAZY instead.

Aren't you glad I got that some stuck in your head, too??

Now, as soon as I get my permit, I can start re-listing to sell all of my lovely items. :)

A Move and A Change...

We have completed the relocation to Texas. The kiddos are in school and I am internet enabled. I am still in the process of closing down the business in New York and making the new, NEWLY NAMED business in Texas all legal-like. I still need to unpack and all, but I have internet, and that's what's important, right?

I have also decided that, since I started off sewing, once a month I am going to post a new sewing photo tutorial.

So, now the-business-formerly-known-as-Coqui-Ainjelfire will be known as AngelTree Gems, and we will get going soon, I hope!

Long Time No Blog....

Check out my sewing tutorial of how to put a patchwork panel into jeans! I am thinking of running a monthly sewing tutorial post on my other blog. Once upona time I dreamt about writing a sewing book, but I think tutorials will be fine for me.

http://thenewnew.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-refit-old-jeans-with-side-panels.html

Also, I have a special running in MY ETSY SHOP with a free upgrade to Priority shipping inside the US for the rest of the week.

Oh wait....where have I been, you ask?

So, I don't like to post this much here, because, well, it's whining. But life here has been well....hectic and non-work related....well, non-my-work related. The husband doesn't have a job, and he's the main bread winner in our family. Though he's getting some great opportunities, all of hubby's big interviews have been out of state. Because of this, I have been working less on making, photgraphing, and selling jewelry, and trying to prepare for potentially moving my family of four. (It always falls on Mom, doesn't it?).

Ok, enough whining! I am still trying to list a few new things a week, and I will start making the time to tell you aboout them and other things I find to be of interest! Promise!

Singing the Praises of my Sonic Cleanser

For Christmas this year, I got myself a little sonic cleaner. It was really cheap on eBay, and I figured, since I wear so much jewelry, much of it costume, eventually, it would pay for itself.

Fast forward to February, when I bought a bunch of lots of gemstone, pearl, coral, and glass beads from two different sellers who each had them listed at steal worthy prices. Another seller had a few pounds of vintage jewelry, also for a steal, so I picked those up, too.

Well, when they arrived, I found out why they had all been listed so cheaply: they STANK!! Obviously, either the eBay seller or the person they had bought the beads from was a heavy smoker, and the beads reeked. I was understandably upset about this, as I am not a smoker, and actually have an over-sensitive sense of smell. The last thing I wanted in my stash was a bunch of smelly beads. And they hadn't all even arrived yet!!

I went online to try to find some remedies for cleansing the reek off of my beads. Some people suggested letting them air, So I put the bin outside in the sun. Others suggested washing them with dishawashing soap. That just gave me clean, smelly beads. Some suggested bagging them up with a dryer sheet. That just added to the stench. then I had someone suggest I bury them in clean cat litter, and the litter would soak up the smell, as it does cat urine. this sounded feasible, and I resolved that the next time I bought more cat litter, I would pick up some extra for this experiment.

As Fate would have it, before I got to the store to buy more cat litter, the last few lots of beads arrived. And one lot stank.....of cat litter. That lot actually smelled worse than the smoke, if you can believe it. And I have 2 cats, so I am somewhat desensitized to the stink of litter.

I was at my wits end. I was really concerned that I was about to have to throw out all of my super discount beads and admit to my husband that he had been right about the beads being a deal "too good to be true".

Then I remembered my sonic cleanser.

At that point, I figured, what the heck. I pulled it out of its box, muddled through the "not quite English" instructions (and giggled at the translations), and set it up.

The first load was the stinkiest beads. the instructions said that you might have to run the cleanser more than once to get your items fully cleansed, so I ran it five times. The water was dark brown by the time the last run was completed.

I pulled the basket out with my beads in it, buried my nose in the wet beads and inhaled deeply.

And......

Nothing.

The beads didn't smell!

At that point, I didn't really trust my nose, so I stormed upstairs to my husband, shoved the beads under his nose, and instructed him to smell.

He didn't smell anything either.

The stupid little $12 sonic cleaner had worked!

It has been over a month now. I have the cleaner set up next to the work sink in the kitchen. It takes 2-3 runs per load to get the beads to stop stinking. I run between 5 and 6 loads a day while helping the kids with their homework. I tried running the loads while I was working, and I kept forgetting them, so I have to limit my loads.

I am about 75% of the way through the beads. I purposely test myself when I come in from being outside to make sure they really don't smell. I ask friends to smell them (the true test of a friend is someone who actually smells the beads you ask them to without more than a strange look).

I LOVE my sonic cleaner. It has proved to be invaluable! I recommend to anyone that they get one. I use it on my jewelry sometimes, too. :)

Final steps!

Ok, I have been working like a madwoman trying to get things made so I can have a nice full looking display in the picture I need to submit for the shows I am applying to for this summer. I finally got enough to take some pictures, and I am sharing them here for all to see:

Not bad, eh?

It only took 3 hours for the husband and I to figure out where we had stashed the tent 2 years ago, get all 6 boxes out and unpacked, figure out how to put the tent up, start carting jewelry and display materials outside and set up, make a sale to a guy who drove by and wanted soemthign for his wife (yay!), rearrange things about 8 times, give up for now on the things I had hanging on the wall after they fell down three times in the wind, and finally decide things were "good enough" and take some pictures.

Then everything came down. Only took an hour to get everything put away. I figure next time we set up, it will be about 2 hours, now that I know where everything goes.

I wish I could figure out how to photoshop in my wall pieces, but I just ordered new ones that will (hopefully) stay up better.

Now, I can focus on getting pictures taken of all of my new items, and listing them! Woohoo!!

Dealing with Life's Little Quandries

So, I am trying to get things ogether so I can take pictures and apply to a few new shows. Every show seems to require a picture of your "display", and thought I have plenty of product, most of my selling has been online and face to face, so I still need to figure out a display.

I have a 10x10 canopy that I bough a few years ago when I was going to do my sewing as a business. It's a high end tent that hasn't been out of the box yet. I currently have tables set up in my living room for figuring out a display, got a cash register yesterday, and have a sign being made as I type this.

I just wonder how detailed these pictures need to be.....

Can I set my tent up in my back yard or driveway, artfully display my pieces in the tent on my tables, take a few pics, and send them in? Or do I really need the sign in place? I would LIKE to get everything set up this weekend, but the sign won't arrive for another week or two.

Also, as I have been setting up, I am realising I have plenty of some things, and definitely NOT ENOUGH of others. Can I set up light and go fromt here, or shoulf I put in a few LOOONG days and get enough for the displays to look full?

Am I making this more difficult than it needs to be? These aren't juried shows, but they are screened and popular fairs, and I would like to get in to them. I feel like all I have done for the week is worry about this, spend money, and make things to fill in display holes......

Maybe I'll just call them and explain the situation.....

More Etsy Lovin'! Unicorn's Pride!

Friday was my birthday, so I decided to break into our funds and buy myself a few gifts. As they have been arriving, I have been doing the happy dance. One seller whose package arrived the other day really outdid herself though, to the point that I feel compelled to give her a shout out. So HUGE shout out to:

Lana from UNICORN'S PRIDE

(Note the picture I am using for her shop has FROGS in it. I love frogs!)

My order was for one of Lana's dry room and body Sprays in "Love at First Sight" and a custom order of soap sacks and scrubbies in colors to match my bathrooms.

Well, they all came quickly enough to be here for my birthday, even though it was a custom order (!!!), and Lana threw in some extras! I was agog at her generosity!

Everything she makes is professional looking and lovely. My husband immediately stole the soap she had thrown in and popped it into "his" soap sack. I have a feeling I will be buying him more soap from her in the future.

To top everything off, Lana is a super nice lady. I can't say anything negative about her at all, other than the fact that she just hooked my husband on her soap. ;)

So, please add Unicorn's Pride to my list of "etsy sellers I highly recommend" and also to the list of "etsy sellers I will return to purchase from".

Oooh! Givin' the Etsy Love!

I have a confession to make: I am addicted to fuzzy things. snuggly sweaters, fingerless gloves, hats, blankets, and slippers are one of my weaknesses. I just love feeling all cozy.

So, when I found this awesome etsy seller who makes her fleece baby booties in ADULT SIZES, I just had to have a pair.

Who is this awesome seller, you ask?

Well, the shop name is Piddies and her slippers are awesome.

I got the Black Cat Slippers:

Aren't they adorable!?!

The sizing is perfect, they are all warm and snuggly and fuzzy, and my husband is very jealous, so multiple happy faces from me! I want another pair, but I just can't justify gettng any more. :(

If you also love fuzzy slippers, then I recommend that you pick yourself up a pair of Piddies! She'll make them in your size!

New Items - Soon in Shop!

Ok, I have had these for a while, but I have been tryin gto figure out what to call them. "Wire wrapped cuff bracelets" seems so....I don't know....Sterile. I am really at a loss, though I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bracelets. There will definitely be a bunch of these coming soon to my etsy and stand alone sites.

So, tell me what you think:

Any Suggestions? I have a bunch of them with different beads, metals, and looks, but they're all the same basic bracelet. Different lengths for different sized wrists. I LOVE these, and they're really comfortable, too!

Ok, I may just cop-out and list them as "Wire wrapped bracelets", but I am hoping for some overnight inspiration.....

Well, we'll all see what tomorrow brings! 'Night!

Announcing FREE Shipping

Hey All! this is a quick announcement to let you all know that I now offer FREE shipping on all of the items in my Etsy store!

Check it out:

Http://coquiainjelfire.etsy.com

More pics and listings soon!

Ok, the kiddos have been off school this week, so I have not gotten much done, but I DID set up my new uncrushed handmade lightbox yesterday night and get some pictures taken. I will post them as soon as I get some free time to edit and post. Probably Monday. The new stuff will most likely end up on my regular website, as it is currently pretty bare.

Thanks for putting up with me!

Need to make a decision

I need to make a decision on my eternal branch pendants. I think they're awesome on their own, but I am one of those women who likes matching earrings to go with my necklaces. So, I made two pair of earrings that could go with my latest branch:




My problem is, how should I do this?

Should I list the pendant with one of the pair of earrings as a set?

Should I list the pendant with a choice of one pair of earrings as a set?

Should I list everything separately, and let people make their own sets?

Should I do somethign I haven't considered yet?

I'm going to need to think about this....and get a new bulb for my Ott-Lite. These pictures taken under incandescent light are really yellow......

New Design!

So, I have decided that I am going to put more focus on my nature inspired designs, since they are really the things I love to do. I already love making up my trees, obviously, and will have some more up soon, as the ones I made recently seem to be going to family members....

I also came up with a new take on an old classic. Much sturdier than the ones I used to buy, wear once, and get destroyed in my jewelry box:

Branches!!

Aren't they gorgeous? I feel like I am wearing an eternal tree when I wear these pendants. Ihave all different sizes and colors. Some all one color, some with multiple colors. I am goign to figure out some flowers and other things to add, too, though I think the butterfly will be a signature thing.

Coming soon to my etsy site!!

Keychains!!

Well, since I had to cancel the cruise due to living in the house of influenza, I spent a few hours today setting up my displays and filling them up. the first display to be filled was the keychain one. Check it out:



I made enough keychains for two of these suckers. I will probably end up photographing and listing them slowly over the next few weeks. Personally, I think this display came out looking pretty sweet. Even though I didn't get into the local craft show, I have another one I am waiting on the acceptance for.

Also, since I was working on a display, this is my first attempt at a jewelry card for my smaller sets:



I know the pictures are lousy and unedited, but I think it came out pretty cool for the first attempt. I have some ideas for making it better, and should be set for my first show.

Now, I just need to look into home parties. My aunt offered a few months ago to invite a bunch of her friends for one, and I think I might take her up on it when the weather gets nicer.....and the flu leaves my house.

Until I post again. ;)

More loving for other Etsy-ans

I shall now randomly post a few of my favorite things from Etsy sellers in the spirit of Valentine's day....

Etsy Buy Handmade CoquiAinjelfire

Dude....I like some weird stuff....

Project Wonderful

So, I decided now is the time for promoting. I created an account and some ads on Project Wonderful and set up a campaign. I also applied for publisher status on my blogs. We'll see how it goes. I am optimistic about things, as all I have ever heard is good things about PW, but I am going to let time tell all.

Website Woes

I have been spending DAYS trying to figure out how to best organize and load up my website. I finally just gave up and added some items. I'm posting a few pictures here so you can see them, because I still feel like the site is hard to navigate.

Raw Aquamarine Spiral pendant. Gorgeous, isn't it?

Green Maple Keychain.

Green aventurine Copper wrapped Pendant.

Blue glass pearl Wire wrapped ring

Blue Dyed marble Water Sign pendant

All of these are available at my website, www.coquiainjelfire.com

I love them, but the website is annoying me. Suggestions are welcome!

Shameless Advertising

(Begin shameless plug havign nothing to do with my etsy shop)

If you are in the New York Area and love fabric, this is the listing for you!

I am getting rid of a huge portion of my fabric stash. It is just too much,a nd I am seriously scaling back my sewing businesses, so I have listed just about everything for sale on Craigslist.

Check it out!

http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/art/1020303071.html

Seriously, how can anyone have this much fabric? I don't know and it's my fabric!! After I get just about everything cleared out, i have a completely full attic to clear out, too! Oof!

So come on down and get some awesome fabric for less than wholesale clearance!

(end shameless plug having nothing to do with my etsy shop)

Joined a Street Team: The NewNew

So, I joined a Street Team, the {NewNew} York Street Team. I have spent the last few days checking them out, and they are AWESOME! I am going to start doing a weekly focus on one of the Street Team members, because otherwise, I will spend all of my time focusing on the team artists and their awesome creations and not on getting my work done!

Feel free to check out their awesomeness:
Http://thenewnew.blogspot.com
http://www.thenewnew.com

Recommended Etsy Sellers

Some other awesome Etsy Sellers I have bought from recently and love. Ok, all sellers I have dealt with have been awesome, but these have really gone above and beyond:

For Perfumes and scents:
thescentdiva

For Stamps and Stamping:
sugarskull7
RobertoSand

For Knitted goodness:
FeltedFinery
brokenhallelujah
crochetroo
suncreationsemporium
sandyssundries
dorkdesigns

For Body Works:
brikeney

For Pottery:

JeffGuerrero

brookhousepottery

redhotpottery

For awesome hawaiian Shirts:
curiouscatclothing

For help with banners, logos, ad boxes, or whatever from the most patient person EVER:
Thompsondesigns

For jewelry (but only after you check out ME, lol)
Finestra
georgiedesigns

And for Absolutely beyond lovely trees:
byapryl

I am SURE I have forgotten some of the other wonderful sellers I have dealt with. Etsy is really the place to be and to shop for handmade, vintage, and supplies. You will not go wrong with any of these sellers, so check them out!.

Absolute Wonderfulness! Etsy Seller: Maylee's Garden

I absolutely must gush about an etsy seller I just received a bunch of bath and body products from. First, let me preface this gush with the stateent that I have ALWAYS gotten excellent customer serveice and excellent products from sellers on Etsy. I will even list some more of my favorites after this post, since I LOVE Etsy so much. But this woman is just awesomeness, so I have to gush.

Libby at Maylee's Garden

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5841305

I ordered some bath salts from Libby. I asked her for a custom, since she doesn't list them, but they are awesome if you can convince her to make you some. I felt sooo smooth and refreshed taking a bath with her lavendar salts. Yummy.

I also go some pink sugar bath salts and soap. Well, i finally broke into them this evening. I was feeling cruddy as I fight a sinus infection, so I poured my bath salts in and grabbed my new soap, and climbed on it. And all I can say is WOW! The whole bathroom smelled like cotton candy (which I LOVE) from a little teaspoon of salts, and the soap smelled soo wonderful. It left my skin smooth and fresh, and no residue-y feeling!

Also, in the bottom of my box, Libby threw in a few surprises. I got a small sample of another awesome smelling soap, and a few washes worth of her own handmade laundry detergent. All I can say is wow.

Please, check her site out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5841305 (in case you missed it the first time)

Organization

Organization is not my forte. I have the stereotypical "creative person" home and workspace. I am lucky I have gotten it to presentable. However, with all of the longer hours I have been putting into my work, I have really been finding the "bin" method of organizing my beads, findings, and wire to be, well, extremely inefficient. I hate having to dig through bins to find a string of beads. It's great when I want to be "inspired". I pull out 5 random strings of beads, and jsut go form there. Bue, when I have a specific idea, finding that one string I am looking for takes forever! So now, i have spent two days organizing, and there is still so much to do! Gah!

I did pull out a bunch of strings that inspired me, though, so maybe tomorrow after my appointments, I will take some pictures of the things I did in-between the organizing. New wire wrapping designs and some hearts for the holidays. wahoo!!

Craft Shows

I have never done a craft show. I have all of the "how to do a craft show" books, but I have never actually gotten up the nerve to apply and try to do one. That is about to change.

This year, there is a craft show that is being held by a big promoter in this area, and it is LESS THAN A MILE FROM MY HOUSE! If I can get in, how much easier could that be? I would be close to home, so if I forgot anything or screwed anything up, I could just call my husband or my uncle (who lives a mile away and is an engineer) to help me or bring me something I forgot.

So, I am biting the bullet. I am clearing out a space in my attic to set up my 3-year-old 10x10 tent for the first time ever. I am finding tables, and I bought display pieces. I am sewing up table cloths. I am taking picture after picture to try to get good pieces for the jury. I am debating paying a professional, even.

It's an exciting and scary time. Wish me luck!

Working on the Website

So, I have a free-standing website along with my etsy store. Up until recently, it has really been more if a "new age" type of store with a few jewelry pieces, and some other stuff. Not much. realy, I guess the site was more of a place holder than anything else.

But, now it is a real online store (Albeit an empty one). I got a great logo from Renee Thompson at Thompson Designs on etsy, and I incorporated it into my whole site. I think it looks really professional, and I can't wait to get a bunch of my creations up and onto the site.

You can check it out at:

http://www.coquiainjelfire.com

I am hoping that by March, it will be full of beautiful Jewelry. My goal is a minimum of 100 pieces I can be proud of on each site (Etsy, and Coqui). That is 200 beautiful pieces to choose from! Right now, I am at 89 and 2, though I have about 30 pictures waiting to be taken. So, lots of work to do!! Yay!

Huh?

I've been re-taking photos, editing, and renewing old listings along with making , photographing, and listing new items. However, I've been noticing a trend:

For every 10 pictures of "pre-listed" items I take, I am finding one item that is in the "listed" bin that hasn't actually made it online. How did this happen? I know I tend to be messy, but I am usually on top of things like this.

Ah well, more things to list and less things to edit. I guess it's a blessing in disguise. Or, at least, that's how I am choosing to look at it.

Valentine's Day Hearts!!

Gorgeous Pink Celtic Heart Keychain
For that woman in your life who just doesn't wear that much jewelry. I love this keychain. It's a good thing I have a keychain I love, otherwise, this one would never have gone on sale. It's so hard to list things sometimes, since I purposely make things I love!

Tangerine Hearts Earrings and Pendant Set

I love this earring design! Every once in a while, I come up with something amazing. Like my purple leaves set, this is a gorgeous copper swirl earring and pendant set. I love that this is enameled copper, so no worries about metal allergies, and I figured out how to best utilise my front-to-back drilled beads! Gorgeous!

More heart stuff soon! I have been focusing too much on my new pendants!

Delving into New Arenas....

So, I am in the process of filling out applications for my first craft shows. It's scary. One show is juried. Even scarier. Can my jewelry hold its own in a jury selecion? How about my photography? Should I hire someone? It's all so overwhelming. fortunately, it DOES look like all of my business paperwork is in order.

On a good note, I am finally figuring out my photo editor. better pictures! Yay!

And, I designed a new pendant that I love! Wahoo! Pics and listings later. Still trying to edit the pictures I took, and get those things listed.

Exciting times.

New Stuff!!

Purple Copper Swirls Earrings and Pendant Set!
How pretty is this little set? The pictures really don't do it justice. I made myself a pair of these earrings using some green leaves similar to these purple ones. Soooo pretty. The pendant is too little for me to wear (darn my huge shoulders), but would be perfect for a delicate person!


New Onyx and Copper Cuff bracelet!
Isn't this gorgeous!! I am so excited about it! The only reason this is for sale is it's just a little bit too small for my enormous wrists!

Blue Water Dragon Keychain

This Keychain is great! I love this dragon charm! On a nice heavy-duty keychain. Nothing flimsy about this piece! So great, and just in time for Valentine's day!

More as soon as I edit the pics!! Yay!

Taking pictures....

Taking pictures so they showcase my work has got to be the part I dislike the most about selling online. I could spend all day every day creating new and interesting pieces of jewelry. But takin ggood pictures of them? Gah!!

My son was home sick from school today, and every time I tried tot ake a picture, he chose that time to run into the room and "need" something. Even when I thought he was sleeping or watching a movie. I never got the FIRST thing I was photographing pictured.

Thank goodness his cough is finished. Now I shoudl be able to get some pictures of the new stuff I finished and get it listed.

Here's some coming attractions:

Onyx and Copper bead wrapped Cuff bracelet (A new favorite)
New design leaf and heart copper long hook earrings
All new design: bead-on-a-wire pendants
and so much more!!

I'll do my best to get lots of pictures up tomorrow after I get home from the post office!!

My house is insane.....

I'll bet you didn't know that a bin full of legos when dropped over the second story balcony onto a wire tree, both shatters the gemstone beads on the tree AND sends legos all over the house. AND it can be done in the 10 minutes that Mommy is in the bathroom and Daddy is taking the recycling out.....

I bet you don't know WHY they did it any better than I do, either.......

Of course, I just sold the piece five minutes before I went to remove it from Etsy.....bleh.

Like I said, Murphy's law rules here.

Getting things done...Not an easy thing to do!

As I've focused more and more on this business being a "BUSINESS",a sopposed top a hobby, I have found out some interesting things. First and foremost: Murphy's Law rules at my house. Anytime anything NEEDS to get done, that's when something catastrophic is going to happen to keep it from happening. NEED to get to the post office? No worries, the sky will dump 6 inches of snow instead of the predicted dusting. NEED to finish that highly intricate ring before the post office closes, so it can go out TODAY? How man times do you think you'll screw it up? This works for the husband (HHBG), and myself.

As one of my resolutions going into this new year was to get something done EVERY DAY, I have found myself making a number of "assembled" items. Some days, it's 5 minutes before I collapse of exhaustion, and I am putting together a keychain and wondering where my day went. Yet, other days, I somehow find the time to spend 2 hours making a tree or wrapping up an intricate ring. I wonder why this is?

One thing I HAVE found is, as I have found myself short on time, I am getting quicker at things that I apparently just needed practice on. Like making wire wrapped bead links (Or whatever they're officially called). The first time I made my own "chain" of beads all on their own little wire wrapped link, it took me HOURS! Literally. It was almost 4 hours start to finish to make one necklace. I finished and sat there wondering HOW people do it. FOUR HOURS!!

The next time I made a "chain", it only took me three hours. That's a 25% reduction in time. Sweet. Now this last time I worked on links, I didn't make a whole necklace chain, I did some single bead earrings and a keychain. All told, it was 7 bead-links. I did everything in about 20 minutes! Wahoo! I wasn't rushing, and they look just as good as the ones that took forever.

Check the new things out!!

I think they look pretty darn good! It's pretty hard to sell the froggie pieces. I love me some frogs. I named my alter ego and jewelry making self after frogs! I even have frog cabinet and drawer pulls in my kitchen.

Ok, enough crazy non-linear posting. Enjoy, and seeya soon!!

Pricing

Ah, yet again that old demon pops up. I was highly frustrated last night when I went to check on my views and noticed how many views I am getting, yet I can't seem to make a sale. I ended up asking about it in the etsy forums. I was thinking my pictures still sucked (they are still too dark), my taste is bad, my shipping too high. What I was NOT expecting was : "Your prices are way too low".

People said that my prices made them wonder if there was something wrong with what I was selling that I was trying to hide! I was so surprised. My husband thinks much of my stuff is overpriced, so I usually price at a happy medium.

So, I am doing an experiment. I marked almost everything in my shop about 10% higher than usual (Some things on the high end, I just left alone). Let's see if it helps sales. I know it's a rough time of year, and the jewelry market is saturated, but it's worth a shot.

Well, off to try that ring pattern I screwed up 6 times yesterday again!

New awesome items!

Oh man! I am loving this new camera! I have been so inspired to work and list! No more concerns that, no matter how gorgeous something is, it will look like poop. Wahoo! Gee....can you tell I'm excited?

So, what have I done recently? WELL!

I have some really adorable new rings! Check out the new wrapped bead ring:

Is that not the most adorable thing ever?? I made a whole bunch of rings out of different polymer clay flower beads! They're sooooo cute! I feel like I have a garden on my finger when I am wearing them. So much fin, and they are SO light!

I also made another one of my trees! This time, I tried out gemstone chips instead of my regular round beads. Tell me what you think:

I love how the tree looks like it's bending over from the weight of the leaves! I am depating whether or not to hang a charm from the side spiral. maybe a sun or a moon.....or an apple. I'm going back and forth with myself.

I also have some new fun earrings, a new bookmark I had to convince myself to sell, a few pendants, some new gemstone rings, and so much more!! Go check it out!

Nasty weather

The absolutely horrendous weather is messing with my mind! I have a bundle of new items I want to get listed, and all kinds of things I need to take new pictures of, but the weather has been so bad, I can't get any decent pictures! GAH!! It's so dark, I have had the lights on all day while I worked, and I have huge picture windows. Bleh.

I literally have a pile of 15 new things just waiting to be photographed and listed....

Maybe it's time to try making a light box again....

What a Difference!

Wow. I never would have believed it, but what a difference a new camera and picture editing software can make! my store looks so different, and so much better! I am so excited!

Ok, off to keep creating!

New Look!

I am completetly revamping the look of my etsy site. I took a bunch of pictures today in natural indirect lighting, and spent HOURS editing the photos, cropping, and moving. I listed a few of the items today after I changed all of my sections and I am about to change my announcement.

So, now I have 6 Sections:

ArtfullyArranged Accessories: This is the accessories I made by basically assembling commercial beads and charms together with findings to "create" something.

ArtfullyArranged Jewelry: same premise as above, but jewelry. This is where my charm earrigns now can be found, along with my charm and single bead items.

Bead on a Wire: This is mostly single focal gemstones with simple wire wrapping and a sophisticated look.

BeautifullyBeadedNStrung: This is all the beaded jewelry I make. Mostly necklaces strung on accuflex.

WireWrapped Jewelry: this is my fancier wire wrapped jewelry. My trees, wrapped rings, gemstone pendants, etc.

I am excited to keep updating the look and to see where it goes from here!

New Creations!

Ok, I still have to work on my picture taking!! This is rough. I tried a hand-made light box, but to my dismay, it stinks. I need to read the manual for my camera. Jewelry is fun. Taking pictures is hard and frustrating.

I am in the process of downloading a photo editor, but here are some rough pictures of my recent creations, soon to be available in my etsy store!

This is a beautiful bracelet made from some resin foiled beads and soem gold plate beads and spacers.

This ring is interesting. It's the first one like this I ever made. I think it came out cool. a huge howlite stone wrapped in copper wire. This brings a whole new definition to "big ring"!

This is a fun yet simple little Quartz nugget pendant. I wish I could figure out how to fix this stuff. Gah. Pictures!!

If I could crop this picture, you's be able to see this gorgeous blue lace agate ring better. This was actually a HUGE mistake that I salvaged, adn I think came out really well.

I have about 5 other items, but they don't even have a single salvageable photo! gah! It's so cold outside, but I think I will brave the cold tomorrow and take a billion more pictures. But here's an idea of what I have been working on.

New Toys!!

I just got my shipment from Fire Mountain Gems! I am so excited!! I love the random grab-bags and surprise gems and focal pieces!! Now to convince myself to let things go!

I DID make something today. It was just a little ring, and my little girl claimed it. Figures. I also finished somethign that has been waiting to be finished until I got my shipment, so hypothetically, I could say I did two things today. pretty cool.

Pictures tomorrow!! Wahoo!