Ruby Mountain Beads turns verified at ArtFire!

Boring post without pictures. For those of you unfamiliar with ArtFire, it is a online handmade marketplace similar to Etsy. There is a battle between which is the preferred place to set up shop. They each have their advantages, and I honestly haven't invested enough time at ArtFire to form an opinion of my own yet.

I set up a basic account for both of my shops at ArtFire months ago. I've not had any sales over there, but also haven't put any time into promoting it. ArtFire's biggest draw for sellers is the no listing and no selling fees. They charge a flat rate of $ 12 a month. Etsy charges 20 cents to list an item, and charges something like 3.9% for each sale.

The way the system works at Etsy, is to keep yourself current, and hopefully get noticed, you have to constantly renew your items. 20 cents a pop. It doesn't seem like much, but believe me, it adds up. Don't get me wrong, I still love Etsy, and wouldn't even consider leaving there. I'm just looking for other avenues for my business, and I really feel like ArtFire is up and coming in the on-line handmade marketplace. I have a feeling it is still a few years out, but I'm kicking myself for not having discovered Etsy sooner. I don't want to make the same mistake again.

I'm sure ArtFire has some little tricks and ins and outs I need to learn, so it will be an adventure for sure!

So, you can now find my artisan findings, commercial beads, and a few jewelry pieces at ArtFire as well as Etsy. I have added the ArtFire kiosk to my blog at the right ->->->->->->

Lots of new ear wire designs

Petite Three Point

Petite Squared Off

Crooked Leg

Small Spade

Large Spade

Squared off with crooked leg

Semi Oval

Mini, medium and classic ear wire

Bubble Wires in four different sizes

2010 is quickly becoming the year of the ear wire at Ruby Mountain Beads! And it's not even 2010 yet!!! The past couple of nights I have been inspired to design and create ear wire, after ear wire, and I feel like I haven't exhausted all of my avenues yet.

I have a confession to make, I love making ear wires. There, I said it, it's true. I find the whole process soothing. Forming the wire, bending it just so. Hammering precisely, filing the ends smooth. Testing it with an earring to see if it hangs just right. Strange. I know.

All new styles can be found at Ruby Mountain Beads!

Where Ruby Mountain Beads Got Their Name

I'm sure you've been lying awake at night wondering, "Where did that name come from? Ruby Mountain Beads. Hmmmm......." Yeah right! At any rate, in today's post you will learn the answer to that question.

Those that know me from where I currently live will surely be scratching their heads trying to figure out where the Ruby Mountains are. Those who have known me from my youth immediately know the answer.

I grew up in Elko, Nevada. Close to there you will find a glorious mountain range. I can only assume that the mountain range got it's name from the way the peaks light up to a ruby red glow at sunset. There was many a night I drove up Lamoille Highway just to behold the beauty of the sunset. Amazing.

The first incarnation using the name Ruby Mountain was for a short lived stint my sister Katie and I had as candle makers. Ruby Mountain Candleworks. :) When I started making jewelry again, I needed a name. Ruby Mountain Beads came to mind with absolutely no thought and I just went with it.

My other Etsy shop, named Humboldt Supplies was named after a river that runs through Nevada. This one didn't require a lot of thought either, but seems to work.

The photo above is of a lake in the Ruby Mountains that is only accessible by foot. Isn't it beautiful? Think twice before jumping in though. The water is sourced by melting snow and is extremely cold!

The Bead Market

For all of you bead lover's out there within driving distance of the Metroplex, there is a bead show coming up in Ft. Worth. July 25-26 http://www.thebeadmarket.net/

Whether you are a newbie, or a seasoned veteran of attending bead shows you really should go check it out!

The last bead show I went to, I bought enough stuff to keep me busy for awhile. It is hard not to go a little overboard at these events.

Go check it out! It should be a fun time!

Cleaning and Organizing

Two things I hate, and it shows! I have beads and wire and bottle cap stuff spread out over at least 4 rooms in my house. It is time to organize and clean! Maybe I won't have to spend as much time searching for things now!

The coolest thing about organizing is finding things that I forgot I had. So, today's post is not exciting at all. I have to stop getting distracted! I want everything organized in hopes that it will streamline my creative process.

Bottle Caps

Bottle caps, bottle caps, bottle caps. This picture has a lot of reflections from the lights in the room, but you get the idea.

A friend of mine made a bottle cap necklace for her little girl. I thought it was the cutest thing, and decided to make some for my girls too. Luckily my friend willingly shares her crafting secrets and told me exactly how to do it and where to go to get the supplies.

Shortly after I started making bottle cap necklaces, I discovered Etsy. www.etsy.com LOVE, LOVE, LOVE , Etsy. I can spend hours just browsing all of the brilliant art work. But, I digress. During one of my marathon Etsy browsing sessions, I discovered graphics already formatted to the size I needed for the bottle caps! Yay!!!

I quickly discovered that I was addicted to buying graphics on-line. It was too easy. I pick what I want, I pay for it, and the graphics are e-mailed to me usually within a couple of hours. No shipping fees, almost instantaneous gratification, relatively cheap, I was totally hooked! Each cute little image makes me want to own it. Just like each bead I run across.

That brings me to the subject of today's post. Bottle caps! I do enjoy making them for my girls, but as usual I have taken it to an extreme, and have more than they could possibly ever wear.

There is a local artists market in the town I live in. There was a lady there selling bottle caps on ball chains for $ 12.00 a piece. $ 12.00!!!!????? So, I listed some on Etsy for $ 4 to $ 5 a piece. I've sold 3. Oh well, at least the girls have a wide variety of bottle caps to choose from.

The other plus (or is it a plus?), all the unused bottle caps I purchased will be listed in Humboldt Supplies. I hope they can find a home and a use.