JJ Jewels

Tides and Candles

2009-02-05T11:34:00.005-06:00

Artists, generally speaking, are a pretty cool group of people. And not just because of the natural-born talent that oozes out of them. For a large number of them (in my experience, anyway), that creativity seems to go hand-in-hand with a generous spirit. It makes them happy as clams to share their knowledge and experience without concern about people "stealing their ideas" or "copying their style". There are a couple of sayings that perfectly illustrate this belief system (that's what it is, really).

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."

"A rising tide lifts all boats."

This attitude is widely seen among jewelry makers - just take a look at all the free tutorials available online. There are even entire websites dedicated to jewelry making education. A couple of the ones I frequent are Beaducation and JewelryLessons.com. Holy moley, that's a lot of talent.

A couple of weeks ago, I learned of another talented and giving individual, Timothy Adams. A successful artist himself with a busy Etsy shop, he has launched a website, Handmadeology, to teach artists the intricacies of selling their handmade goods online. He focuses on a couple of selling venues for handmade works, Etsy and Artfire. Tim covers topics from marketing to photography to increasing shop traffic. Talk about your fonts of information! And it's all free! People who have been around me for any time at all know I tend to roll my eyes at humankind in general, but coming across people like this reminds me that there are some good ones out there. Warms the ol' cockles.

OK, enough with the cockle-warming, down to business. I've added some new pieces to my Etsy shop (link on the left), mostly rings and woven bracelets. More of both to come. And maybe bookmarks. I've also decided to have a SALE! Between now and Valentine's Day, everything on my website that is pink, red, or heart-shaped is 20% off! Tell your gift-buying-challenged sweetie!

Hello, out there!

2008-12-31T08:39:00.006-06:00

(Creeeaaaakkk) Wow, it's still standing! And would you LOOK at the cobwebs! Well, I guess that's what I get for being away for 7 months. I'm a bad, bad blogger. Well, I'm here now and you are my witness to my New Year's resolution to post at least monthly. If I don't, you are hereby granted permission to nag, pester, and generally give me a hard time.

I hope your holidays have been healthy and happy. I must've been a pretty good girl, because Santa brought me some awesome new tools from Wired Up Beads. Not only are the tools fabulous, the customer service is terrific, the packaging is very pretty, they sent me a very nice little gift, and they're local! Bonus! I have a feeling they'll be seeing more of me.

Now, on to jewelry! I have several favorite pieces that I've made lately, but this is my favorite favorite: a wire-wrapped botswana agate bracelet and matching briolette earrings with handmade earwires. I don't know what it is about botswana agate, but I go ga-ga over it every time I see it. Something about those cool striations through the subtly changing colors, mmm-mmmm. Anyway, those of you who came by my Holiday Open House probably noticed this piece. For some reason, I'm not too sad that it didn't sell then (could it be because it fits ME? Bwaaahaahaa!), but I could be persuaded to part with it with some serious sweet-talking. Just kidding. No, really.

Well, that's it for today. I've got to get back to catching up on my badly neglected bookkeeping (apparently, blogging is not the only thing I'm bad about). And I have GOT to dust in here, this is ridiculous!

Pinkie Gems and a Gem of a Radio Station

2008-05-07T11:12:00.008-05:00

A customer asked for some wire-wrapped pinkie rings a while back and I ended up making several. I've added a couple of the leftovers to my Etsy store. One is a funky little turquoise ring. Another is a sweet and simple silver leaf jasper in versatile neutral colors. These little rings are so adorable, but they make me jealous of people with slender, delicate hands and fingers (you know who you are!). Not me. I practically have Man Hands like in the Seinfeld episode. I try to girl them up a little without being too froo-froo about it. I don't have the time or patience for froo-froo. Especially in a houseful of guys. Even the dog and cat are boys! Anyway, if you have little stick-like appendages (told you I was jealous) that need girling up, check out these petite cuties.

While I'm sitting here dwelling on the hugeness of my hands, I'm listening to Pandora, awesome Internet radio from the Music Genome Project. Through a unique analysis of all the different aspects of music, it can scan and select songs similar to your entered favorites. You can create and refine your own stations according to genre or whatever criteria you choose. Thanks to my dear friend Cinda for turning me on to it. It's way cool. Go check it out.

Buds, Bunnies, and Bracelets

2008-04-28T12:13:00.018-05:00

I have several things to write about so I thought I'd just cram them all into one post. First of all, I've added several new pieces to my Etsy store. My favorite is this funky paintbrush jasper and leather bracelet. I just wish I'd made it long enough for my big-boned wrist. The idea for this bracelet just seemed to spring out of nowhere while I was working on a necklace. It's kinda cool when that happens. The other pieces I added are lighter, more summery. I've decided that the pieces I add to Etsy will be the ones that are a little on the funkier, younger side. The ones on my regular web site are my more classic, "appeals to a broader audience" pieces. I still have several pieces to add to both sites, I just need to get my tushie in gear and get photos taken.

I also had to brag on one of the coolest get well gifts of all times. A while back, I had gall bladder surgery. Not fun, but at least I don't have to worry about those nasty gall stones anymore. Those babies are wicked. Anyway, one of my bestest and dearest friends (and fellow Monty Python fan), Debi, sent me these great slippers. They look all cute and cuddly with their sweet pink ears and little fluffy tails, don't they? But these aren't any old bunny slippers. These are the Killer Rabbits of Caerbannog, guardians of the cave of the same name, home of the Legendary Black Beast of Aaarrrrgggghhhh. These foul-tempered rodents have a mouthful of nasty, big, pointy teeth and a vicious mean streak a mile wide. (Imagine all that said with an awesome Scottish accent.) I just love 'em. They're comfy and they make me giggle every time I see them. Thanks again, D!

Lastly, I just had to say something about how much I love this time of year, when Texas is at its prettiest (and stormiest, but that's another post). I've got lots of things blooming, some for the first time. Some of my

dianthus are nearly as big as shrubbery (thank you mild winter and wet spring), my 3-year-old irises are finally blooming, and a miniature rose that I was sure I had killed when I chopped off most of its roots and moved it is thriving. The clematis is taking over the arbor, and the gaura is loaded with its pretty little butterfly-like blooms. Now, will this gardening gorgeousness be around come August? Only time and the Texas weather gods will tell. But for now, between storms and the mom-list, I'm gonna enjoy every bloomin' minute of it!

Miracle of Miracles!

2008-04-17T15:21:00.006-05:00

I was beginning to think it would never happen, that it was just a myth like sitings of Big Foot or Nessie. But, lo and behold, the legendary website update is complete! And I didn't have a nervous breakdown! That, my friends, is a miracle.

If you had asked me last night (or was it this morning at about oh-dark:30 while the electricity was going OFF AND ON), there would've been no doubt, oh yeah, breakdown's a given. While working on the update, I thought I'd gotten a big mess of my own making figured out and finally tried to publish about 6 hours' worth of work when I got a pop-up that told me "This page does not exist or cannot be read". What?!? All forward progress came to a screeching halt. There was no publishing happening after that bit of good news. How my head kept from shooting like a rocket off my shoulders, I will never know. Disgusted with the whole thing, I decided to close it down for the night. That's when I got the boogey man of all pop-ups: "Yahoo Sitebuilder has recovered from a serious error. Please send a report to help us better understand blah, blah, blah..." That's when I thought, well, there goes my website down the toilet. Completely drained (no pun intended), I stumbled off to bed to bury my head and forget the whole thing. Yeah, right.

After a refreshing 3 hours of sleep, I couldn't stand it any longer. With a glimmer of optimism, I stumbled back to the computer to try once more to publish my blood, sweat, and tears (well, there was definitely sweat involved). I clicked the button and covered my face with my hands. My youngest, Jared, had wandered in to see what the fuss was about (he likes to be informed). I gave him a quick rundown and told him to be prepared for a hissy fit if things didn't work. He said, "Mom, look!" I almost couldn't do it, but peeked between my fingers and saw the publishing in progress. Yeah! Old person happy dance! The rest of today has been spent doing nitpicky stuff and there is still work to be done, but the majority of it is ready for public inspection. So, go take a gander at all my hard work and let me know what you think. And, you know, no pressure or anything, but you BETTER LIKE IT! Just kidding! ;^)

It was inevitable...

2008-04-15T17:00:00.007-05:00

Well, now I've gone and done it - I've jumped on the blogging bandwagon. I fought it as long as I could, but I finally gave in because, well, all the cool kids are doing it.

Seriously, anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a serious creature of habit. I usually have to be dragged into change kicking and screaming (at least grumbling). I like to just keep an eye on new things for a while to see how they work out. I envy people who jump in with both feet, who embrace new trends, new technology, new ways of doing things. This is a little out of my comfort zone, so bear with me while I stumble and ramble along.

I'll be blathering on about my family (hunky hubby, two awesome boys, various critters), things going on with us, and oh, probably a plug or two about my jewelry business, JJ Jewels. My poor customers have been hearing for months about my Web site redo. It's actually progressing very well. Once I tear myself away from this new toy and finish the yardwork and get car tags renewed and finish taking pics and a few million other things, I'll get right on that. Seriously, I'm hoping to have it ready to unveil in a couple of weeks.

So, welcome to my little corner of blogdom! I hope you enjoy it!