Now Open for Business!

My new Etsy shop, Principessa Jewels is now open for business! I put a few listing up today and will continue to move listings from my old shop, Juniper Gems over to the new one. It will take me a while to get everything all in one shop, but eventually it'll all be done.

I've been adding a lot of new jewelry pieces, especially the vintage jewels. I have some new bracelets to be listed this week and some really cute necklaces. These pieces are so much fun to wear. These aren't just for those "dressed up" occasions, although they are great for that. These pieces look awesome with a simple t-shirt and jeans, or a simple dress. I love being able to put a little sparkle into everyday life.

Here in Texas sparkle is Queen! You don't have to look hard to find anything and everything embellished with a little bit of bling! I learned very quickly that if you are going to do sparkle here.. then you DO IT! Let's just say it's not a subtle little shimmer.

I've been working on getting more beads in my other Etsy shop, Principessa Glass, but that has been slow going! I did just list three new sets of Pandora style beads, and I will hopefully torch another time or two this week and get a few more things done. Stop by and check out my new shop! Thanks for stopping by.

My How Time Flies!

Apparently it has been almost a month since my last blog post! Shame! I was really trying to do so much better about being consistent with posting... ah.. such is life! The big news this week, is my kiln has decided to take a vacation.. I am waiting for a part, which I am told (fingers, toes and any other parts that will cross, crossed) will likely fix the problem and be easy to install. I am fairly handy, so hopefully this won't be beyond my capabilities! In the mean time... NO BEADS... Can I just go on record to say how much that sucks!

I have been working diligently on making more jewelry. I have a lot more listings in my Juniper Gems shop. I have lots more things to list with many more in the works!

On Monday my little girl will be turning 17! We are having a birthday party for her this weekend and I am currently praying that all 20 of the 16-17 year old's she invited DON'T come! I do like her friends..and yes, we did let her invite that many, but partly because in past years such a small number actually ended up coming to the party, that I figured  push the number a little higher and and hopefully she'll have a satisfying turn out...Nothing is worse than your kid sad that nobody is coming to their party!

Hopefully my kiln will be back operating by the beginning of next week. I have a feeling I am REALLY going to need an outlet after this weekend.. either that or a whole lot of wine! I have several new things on the bead front planned, but I am going to keep them a surprise for now...Not a big departure for me, but something new just the same!

There are still plenty of nice things in my bead shop.. hopefully I will have some new offerings sometime next week! Spring break comes early here in Texas.. the kids are out the week after next I think.....I guess I will have to find some entertaining things to do. At least it's warm now! Thanks for stopping by!

Ignorance is............

Can be bliss, but in this case it's losing money! I finally made myself sit down the other night and do a comparison of glass prices. I knew where sterling silver had been going. It was hard to miss that. But I hadn't really been paying attention to the rising cost of glass. I bought when I needed it, tried to get things on sale when ever possible, but recently a couple different sources referenced the rising price of pink glass. This caused me to actually sit down and look at what I had paid for these colors in the past. Let me just say I about fell over! One glass, which thankfully I haven't used a lot, but I do like and would like to use in the future has gone from $30.00 a pound to $85.00 a pound!

If you buy glass, you'll know that the expensive, silver laden glass can run between $85.00-100.00 per pound. The glass that just went up to $85.00 is just a soft pink, semi-opaque color, that doesn't do anything special!  Needless to say, in the future, if it is pink, it's going to be priced a wee bit higher than other beads. I also just ordered more sterling silver tubing for coring my Pandora style beads and that is about 50% more than it was a year ago. I have been making more sets of beads unlined and they seem to be getting a good response. I am still going to core some of the beads, but may just stick to doing so on larger focal's and single beads.

I have been listing beads at least once a week in my Etsy shop, some times twice. I think I have found a pretty good rhythm that works for me and allows me the time to fit in other things and doesn't wear me out. I have decided to stop previewing my beads on Facebook. I am trying to fine tune things down to only doing that which is a profitable use of my time. While I really do enjoy giving my Facebook customers the opportunity to see things in advance, this was only creating twice the work for me, so I need to cut out what isn't helping me. I'd rather have more time to do the creative part of this endeavor, and be more efficient with the necessary,  but much less fun parts like photos, editing and listing!

I am working on getting more jewelry pieces listed consistently. This seems to be the thorn in my side right now! For some reason, I just can't seem to get all my ducks in a row on this one for more than a week or two at a time! I will just keep trying. Thanks for stopping by and listening to me ramble!

Whats New....

Here's a peek at a few new things that are now listed in my Etsy shops. The jewelry pieces are in my shop Juniper Gems and the beads are all listed at Principessa Glass. Some of these items have already sold and some are still available.

I've been making a lot of hearts these days! I found a brass press that makes a truly awesome plump, consistent heart and I just love the results. It still takes a bit of skill to use, its not a simple load and press kind of deal, but it does allow you to make beautiful, nicely sized hearts, that are of a consistent size, with a nice crisp finish to them.

I have also embraced the trend of making beads directly onto vintage/antique skeleton keys. First I do love hunting in antique stores for these little treasures, and then of course, you know I do love making beads, so its fun then to put my own signature of sorts, on this little piece of history. I have been selling some in my bead shop and converting some into necklaces that are sold in my jewelry shop.

I have been gearing up for fall working on more organic looking beads and warm toned color palates, but I am also pleases to see the color forecast for fall has some very nice colors in it this year, not so neutral based. Lots of reds, greens, plums and purples and plenty of blues as well.

I do have an eye towards the winter holidays and have been testing out colors, shapes and designs. I will likely start offering my winter/ holiday beads in early fall. As always, I list all of my bead and jewelry listings on my Facebook within minutes of posting to Etsy. I have also started putting them on my Twitter. Thanks for stopping by!

New Jewelry Pieces!

 Finally I have made and listed some new jewelry pieces in my Juniper Gems shop on Etsy. It has taken me a while to get things together since I started selling beads online at the beginning of this year, but I hope to continue to be able to add things on a regular basis.

I made a couple of necklaces, which is a fairly new thing for me. I wanted to do something that utilized the Pandora style beads I make, but in a different way than the traditional bracelet or a single bead slid onto a chain for a necklace. When I bought a troll bracelet for myself last year, I noticed in their catalog that they had a necklace concept, kind of lariat style necklace, that is anchored with a large silver charm. I have since seen several people doing different variations on this same theme. I wanted to do something that was unique to my style, so I have decided to make my version anchored with my pretty, plump, lampwork hearts. The chains don't have clasps on them, (unless you want one) and are long enough to slip over your head. This allows you to change the Pandora style beads that come on the necklace with others you may have or if you purchase more, giving you the ability to change the look of the necklace with ease.

I am also taking some of the vintage skeleton keys I have been making beads on and making necklaces out of those. They have a very vintage style to them, using antique natural brass chain, wire and charms, as well as Swarovski crystals, pearls and anything else I think looks good!

I have some new bracelets listed, with many more in the works, all featuring my own artisan made lampwork beads. I am finally doing what I set out to do when I learned to make beads! I wanted to be able to make beads for my own designs and have them be exactly what I wanted, not buy what was available from other bead makers. I have always loved buying beads, but often times, I couldn't get exactly what I wanted, or too many of one thing, not enough of another... Now I am finally utilizing my own skills to suit my needs! I really like this new aspect! I of course will continue to sell my beads, but up until this point I wasn't making them for my own jewelry designs.

I have really enjoyed the growing relationships I have made with all the people I have met through facebook. I post all of my bead and jewelry listing there within a short time after I put them up on Etsy, so it's a good way to see what is new, quickly and easily and stay connected with all the goings on in my crazy life! If you haven't already become a fan, pop over and become one today! Be sure to stop by my Etsy bead shop Principessa Glass and see what is new, and Juniper Gems for jewelry listings. Thanks for stopping by!

Cool Stuff!

Etsy has some very cool things. Every so often, I come across something that strikes me as very unique, interesting and functional. The owner of this Etsy shop, DAM Jewels, Had ordered some beads from me, so I took some time to familiarize myself with her shop and what she sold on Etsy.  I thought this Stethoscope jewelry was a very cool idea and a great way to jazz up an everyday item that is used by many in the medical field.

She can customize the colors and charm elements to suit ones taste or given field of work, which I thought was so very fun. I personally don't work in the medical field, my husband does, and I know for a fact he won't be looking for jewelry for his stethoscope, BUT, it is still a area that is largely dominated by women and WE like pretty things. She also offers plenty of other jewelry designs in her shop as well, bracelets, earrings, pendants etc. If you are in the medical field or know someone who is, stop by and take a peek at what DAM Jewels has to offer.