Christmas-y Earrings

Here are those cute little Christmas Trees and Snowman earrings. I got these ideas from the firemountaingems.com project list (and then, of course, tweaked it until I found something I liked). The best part about these is that I cranked out several pairs during soccer practice! (These trees have one less tier than I originally planned to keep the price point closer to the other Christmas earrings. The last thing I want to do at the fair is worry about making change.)


Those lampwork Christmas beads should be in today, too! I can't wait! Like I said, it's a sick, sick addiction.

Craft Fair Display Dilemma

The upcoming craft fair is this coming weekend and I do NOT feel prepared AT ALL! First of all, I haven't figured out what kind of display to set up. It's an outdoor craft fair/garage sale- each vendor gets a 10x10 spot plus a 10x15 spot for their car. So basically, I have to set up a booth??? I was thinking of just setting up a table with baskets, packaging most of of the "less expensive" pieces in plastic ziplocs, and letting folks thumb through. Should be ok for this sort of setting, right? Once my supplies for Christmas-y earrings come in (should be tomorrow, I hope!) most of the items I'm selling will actually be under $15. It's not like I'm trying to sell folks a bunch of $300 bracelets like you see at some high end places.

Well, maybe it's ok to "go ghetto" and maybe not. After looking around online a bit, it seems most folks would actually opt to pitch a 10x10 canopy and erect three walls made of pegboard in addition to 1-3 tables with varying professional cases... and place the jewelry in gift boxes to make it look more professional. Um, I don't even know if I WANT to keep doing craft fairs, and I don't have a whole lot of inventory. Buying the supplies to make this stupid display would eat any potential profits I made!!! The whole point of starting at this particular craft fair is that the booth fee is only $17 for me. (Most of these can run well over $100 depending on the location!) I guess one way to look at it is that these folks are hardcore, professional crafters with established businesses. I'm just getting my pinky toe wet. Anyway, I won't be buying or renting a canopy or building three pegboard walls or multiple jewelry cases... if I do this, it's going to be me, one folding chair, and one folding table in the middle of my 10x10 piece of grass. :)

The primary logistical challenge is that the fair runs from 8-12 I need to leave by 10:30 to get to my son's soccer game at 11. My first idea was to pack the car up and leave it there, catch the bus to the soccer field, then come back for the car at noon, but this is the last game of the season and there's a potluck following the game. The other option is to park the car elsewhere, and just hand carry everything when I'm done. Maybe I can find someone willing to pack up an extra table, or since I don't already have a table, find a lightweight alternative? Maybe some plywood and horses?

I did find some really cute Christmas lampwork beads online which would make the MOST ADORABLE charm bracelets and earrings. It's tough not to go nuts and order another $200 worth of beads before I ever sell a piece, though. I've already spent way more on beads than I want to admit to anyone I know. Let's just say it would've paid for that new dishwasher I really want. It's a sick, sick addition. Maybe I'll look into Etsy.com too.

"Palaka"

Here's another fairly simple weave pattern, which we'll call the "Palaka," after the plaid patterned materials used for making work clothes for plantation laborers. (Both of my grandfathers worked on sugar plantations!) All of these are composed of Swarovski crystal and will be priced around $20-30 at the craft fair, depending on overall length of the bracelet and type of clasp.

This one is blue and blue green, and reminds me of the ocean. Since the clasp is vermeil, it'll have a higher price tag than the others. (Gold is so expensive!)

Here are some other "Palaka" combos I've completed. This picture is slightly yellow due to the artificial lighting... natural sunlight shows off the true colors so much better, but it's been raining all weekend!

I'm also working on figuring out how to connect multiple patterns together to get more of that checkerboard effect. Maybe by the end of the week? We'll see.

More for Less

So, here's the conundrum of the novice beader... how to produce something unique and still keep the costs down? There are some really interesting patterns out there for elaborate woven bracelets, but the amount of time that goes into producing them means I'd have to mark up more for labor because that takes away from the time it takes to produce more of the simpler stuff. That is, if I pick this up as a money making venture. At any rate, purchasing beads, charms, and findings (clasps, ear wires, etc.) in bulk is significantly cheaper than buying items per piece in a local bead shop. Of course, the disadvantage is that you'd better come up with something people like. :) But that's part of the fun in creating!

For under $10, you can make foil lined glass bead coiled bracelets such as these:
(To make these out of crystal beads would essentially quadruple the price.)

These have "inspirational" pewter components with two strands of beads... these three are made of colored glass alternating with freshwater pearls and sterling silver seed beads.



A little more expensive option, freshwater pearls and sterling silver seed beads:


A little less expensive option, imitation pearls (glass):


I think I also solved some of the lighting problems I had last week. Still playing with the aperture on the camera. :)

Just a little bling

Just for fun, this week, I decided to focus on producing some "less expensive" items for sale at the craft fair.

In the $10 and under range, I can produce 5" little girls' Swarovski crystal bracelets with magnetic clasps. These are really sweet, fit in a stocking, have just a touch of bling, and you don't have to worry about them being lost on the playground:



And because earrings tend to be quicker to complete, here are some I put together.


The Christmas trees are kind of expensive to produce because it's difficult to find this particular shape of bead. The clear ones cost more than the green due to the finish on the crystal. I attached some bells onto one of the crystal trees and then decided I'm not so keen on the weight of the earrings with the bells on.
I think I'll work on these a bit more, then focus on some Christmas themed items next week.

The "Haunani"

This pattern is called, "Haunani," which is Hawaiian for "beautiful snow." (The hexagonal background reminds me of those paper snowflakes we made as kids.) It's a double decker- one layer strung on top of another... and a lot of fun to make. I like the feel of this pattern with the smooth pearls on the bottom, plus it has a nice weight to it.

Here's one with cream pearls, made for a girlfriend who claims her new boyfriend is "the one." (She'd better not get her ring first!!! HAHAHA!) The "flowers" on the top layer are light peach bicones. (The spacers on the bottom layer are vintage rose rondelles.) All metal beads and the clasp are sterling silver. The dangle on the clasp is vintage rose/cream pearl. I also added a small blue bicone to see what it would look like, but I think I'm going to replace it with a larger cream pearl. Speaking of changes, those earrings need something else...



This one was made for wear on 4th of July. The pearls are midnight blue, spacers are clear, and flowers are red, red, red!!! (My favorite color!) Technically, the Swarovski name for this lovely shade of red is actually, "Siam," if I recall correctly. (Sorry, I buy what looks pretty at the store and don't always pay attention to names.) Again, everything else is sterling. I also have an American flag charm and yellow ribbon charm to add as dangles to the clasp... I meant to give it to a co-worker whose spouse is deployed, but I ended up wearing this one myself! Terrible, I know! Eh. I can't give ALL of these away...



This one is going to my SIL for her birthday... which reminds me, I need to go to the post office. I forgot the actual Swarovski name for the color of the pearl, but it's a dark chocolate. The spacers are peridot bicones (look like leaves?) and the flowers are all in rich, fall inspired jewel tones since she has a fall birthday... which I thought was in 2 days. but was actually last week. Um, have I mentioned that I need to go to the post office!!!!



My son is getting bored, so that's it for now. Here's a blue version of the same pattern... this one is earmarked for my college roommate in honor of her son's first birthday next month. It's still in progress...



Well, tell me what you think. Is this something you'd like to get as a gift? I could probably reduce the cost by going with glass beads instead of Swarovski crystal. (My cost for a 6" bracelet, no dangles, earrings, or charms, is just under $40.) I just like the uniformity of Swarovski better. Anyway, I'll try to figure out how to fix my lighting problem and hopefully be back with better pictures!

Is this thing on???

I'll admit- I'm new to beading. I needed something quiet to do at work when things were slow to keep me awake and also stave off the carpal tunnel!!

No two bracelets I string for fun are alike, mostly because I like playing around with different colors to see what happens. I am, of course, here because I'm considering starting to make the craft fair rounds and see if folks would actually be interested in buying similar items... so please feel free to comment! Sorry for the quality of the pictures. Still learning how to do that bit! Actually, I know what my problem is... I need a diffused source of white light other than my desk light. Haha, maybe I'll spring for one if I ever start selling these things for profit.