wedding, repeat customer

Jake and I took a short road trip this weekend for one of my good college friend's wedding.  We drove 13 hours (not counting the in town traveling) in 3 days, but it was worth it.  In addition to the wedding, we got to visit with other friends and family along the way, most of whom we don't see very often.

During the trip, I sold half a dozen bracelets to a friend who did a large portion of her Christmas shopping with me last year, too.  Four of the bracelets are pieces that I've made in the last few months, including my newest silver links ocean piece that I hadn't listed on Etsy yet.  I actually hadn't even edited the pictures of it!  Here's a newly edited picture for you.

 

This is the third version of this design that I've sold so I will be making more of these in the future.  I have a few ideas for link bracelets in other color combinations, too.  As always, I'm open to your suggestions, too.

I hope that this week gets off to a good start for everyone!

I'm back!

I got back to Iowa this evening. I sold 15 pieces off Etsy while I was out of town! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was hoping to sell a few, but 15 was WAY more than I ever expected. Three of them were from the new leafy series, including this pink and purple one that I hadn't listed on Etsy yet.


I am still updating all of the sold listings on Etsy so that they are now made to order items. I am really glad that I bought so many leaf beads at Caravan. I thought that it was a little crazy at the time, but now I am thankful that I replenished my stash so I can create new leafy pieces. I only have 2 in stock currently!

I did do a little bead work while I was on the road. I am looking forward to getting back into a normal creative routine now that I'm back at home. Things will be crazy this next week with school starting up again, but when things settle down a little, there will be time for some jewelry making.

The deadline for both the next EBW Challenge and the Awesome Chicks of Etsy Midsummer Challenge is Sept. 5. I'm pretty committed to entering both so if nothing else, I will be working on both of those projects the remainder of August.

Thank you so much to everyone who continued to drop Entrecards and visit my Etsy site and blog while I was on vacation! I did approve new ads as I could while traveling and will be back in that regular routine now. I still have a few new items that I did not sell on my trip and will be listing over the next week or so.

continued new listings and non-Etsy sales

I have another new listing up on Etsy.


This was the first wrapped skinny cuff that I made. As you may remember, I already sold the second one that I made with gold embellishment. I have one other wrapped cuff that I'll list sometime in the next week. Other than that, I don't have any others in the works...yet. But there will definitely be more in the future because I love this look.

At the request of one of my classmates, I brought some of my jewelry with me to the last day of my last summer grad class. I ended up selling three bracelets, including two more that I hadn't even listed yet. The third one that I sold is my beloved blue embellished square stitch bracelet. I just may have to make another one!

I am really excited that my newer work has been so well received this summer. It is really encouraging and gives me confidence to keep working on my new ideas.

Here are pictures of the two bracelets that I sold that I hadn't listed yet. I bought the turquoise dotted beads for this first one over a year ago! I actually have three more of them so I may make another bracelet like this one.

This is the first leafy bracelet that I've sold!

more non-Etsy sales

I went to Chicago from the 10th through the 13th. While I was there, among other things, I sold five more pieces, two of which are so new that I hadn't even listed them on Etsy yet. I had taken pictures of everything that I brought with me, though, so you can still see the new work.



The first one will still be a very easy one to list as a made to order item. I may go ahead and make another one at some point so I can have one on hand. The second one is a new design I've made two of now. The other one is all blue and will be listed sometime this month. I'm thinking about making another embellished cuff with the gold cubes for detail, but with an all green background. As always, feedback on the new design as well as other ideas for color and embellishment are appreciated.

My sales covered the beads that I bought at Briolette and Bead in Hand while I was there. I went to Briolette when I was in Chicago back in February, and my mom bought me a stash of beads from there for my birthday, too. I hadn't been to Bead in Hand in about three years, though. It was good to go back. I love the two bead stores in the Iowa City / Cedar Rapids area, too, but I love the variety of different stores.

Don't forget to vote in the current EBW Challenge if you haven't already! You can vote at the blog by clicking here. Thank you to everyone who already has voted.

April Top Droppers, non-Etsy sales

Thank you as always to those of you who drop on my blog regularly, especially those of you who have continued to do so over the last week or so even though I've been dropping infrequently due to being out of town. Your support means so much to me!

This has been another month with a lot of flux in the Top 10. Here's the current line up:
1) Silver Sachet
2) my review
3) BeadedTail
4) My Gypsygoods
5) A Rose By Name
6) Split Rock Ranch
7) Betty Mae Artistry
8) Zero
9) Unique You
10) I Learn Online Marketing

Even without any more traveling for a couple more weeks, things are still more crazy than usual with the end of the school year in sight. I did get my leafy spring bracelet remade for the third time. It certainly is more sturdy than the first two versions. Hopefully it will hold and I can finally start making some other variations of it!

When I was back in Chicago this past weekend, I brought my jewelry with me to my mom's sewing group at their request. I ended up selling six pieces and getting an order from one woman for five more! I'm hoping to get the order put together before I head back that way over Memorial Day weekend so I can deliver it in person then.

The five pieces that I'll be making for her are variations or duplicates of pre-existing designs so new listings will continue to be limited over the next couple weeks. I am VERY excited for all this business, though, and will continue to jot down new ideas as they come to me, as summer is quickly approaching which means lots more time for jewelry making. :)

Finally, check out some awesomeness from the Top Droppers who are also Etsy sellers:
Green Jewel Tone Bead Bracelet by Silver Sachet

Panther Silver Necklace by BeadedTail

Elemental Summer Cuff by arosebyname

Save Our Soap eco bags by gypsygoods

Peaches and Cream -bead woven necklace by beaderjojo

(this is actually on ArtFire...Betty Mae isn't selling anything on Etsy right now) Marionberry Spiral C by bmae514