6/19/22 - I am doing a lot of relisting right now, and some items were just a few dollars below $35. I have moved them up to $35 and they now have free shipping - so the cost to buyers goes down! This discount also works for customers who buy more than one item and spend $35 or more.
8/12/20 - A month ago I moved for what I hope will be the final time. My store is re-opened and I have started making new jewelry and lanyards!
1/9/19 - I have moved one more time, downsizing my living space yet again. However I have not downsized my store stock, and will be making more jewelry shortly!
6/6/17 - I have just re-opened my shop after moving. Downsizing my living space and belongings was a good move for me, giving me much more financial freedom as I continue to seek wellness and express my creativity. I did NOT downsize anything having to do with my jewelry business.. in fact, I have supplies that were just waiting for me to design new creations, which I'll be starting soon!
11/4/16 - Currently I am struggling to keep my Etsy shop open. While I am still able to make jewelry, huge medical expenses have made it difficult to afford the fees for renewing my listings, and I no longer have a location where I can do vending without paying an up-front fee, which I also cannot afford. In an attempt to cut costs, I am currently not renewing my lowest priced ($5) items, and those that have been renewed many times and not frequently viewed. I have Store pages on Facebook and Pinterest, but paid promoting is also out of my reach. If you happen to see an item in my store that you are interested in but it's not currently an active listing, please send me a Convo and I'll be happy to re-activate it. I am also still happy to create custom items on request. Thank you!
3/31/16 - In 2015, I started experimenting with new mediums for making jewelry. I made necklaces and bracelets with African vinyl disc beads and bone beads, Licorice leather bracelets, then started working with flat & round leather cord, as well as rubber cord, which is a really fun material to make bracelets with. I also tried out some new & different designs with materials I already worked with, such as lanyard lacing. My newest work in progress is chunky bubblegum bead jewelry. There are also a limited number of vintage items for sale; these are the only items that I didn't make, and they are clearly marked. So if you haven't checked out the shop for a while, there are a lot of new items and styles to be found!
3/25/14 - Once I got into the issue of jewelry size, I decided to take a look at Etsy clothing as well. I saw that while there is plus size clothing, sometimes that label is misleading. In my opinion, Women's size 12 or XL is NOT plus size, although sometimes included in catalogs as a plus size 0. 14/16 is junior plus, or size 1 in the Plus size world. Size 18/20 is 2X or just 2, 22/24 is 3X or 3, etc. I've been on both sides of the weight spectrum, being an undersized kid who got teased for still being in a children's size 10 in 8th grade, and now being a plus size woman due to hormone issues (yes really!) While I'm delighted to be currently losing weight, which was becoming a health issue, I will probably remain at some level of plus size, and as long as I'm healthy and can move easily, I'm happy with it! So I have chosen some plus size clothing favorites, too, adding them to the main Items I Love list.
3/23/14 - I've expanded my Favorites to four lists: Items I Love, Great Chainmaille Supplies, Terrific Jewelry Supplies, and Graceful Glass Animals. I've loved collecting glass animals for as long as I can remember, and there are wonderful ones to be found! I've stopped just favoriting things I might buy or have used in jewelry making, and gone on to creations that I really like, whether I could afford or use them or not. If they catch my eye, if they seem unique and special to me, they are here.
I've noticed while exploring the Etsy site and looking at various galleries and collections, that there is a serious shortage of finished jewelry for those with larger size necks, wrists, and/or fingers. Many necklaces offer choices of 14-18" chains. My neck measurement is 17 1/2". Anything less than a 24" long chain is a choker for me. 5 1/2 - 6 1/2" bracelets won't work, my wrist measures 7 1/4" and you have to add 1/2" for movement. Many of the beautiful rings that I have favorited would require a custom order for my finger sizes, which are different on each hand and average sizes 8-10. I have tried, in making the necklaces and bracelets that I sell on here, to offer sizes that would fit me. While I can customize many items to make them larger or smaller, the price you see is for larger than average sizes. Beauty and love of jewelry come in all shapes and sizes, so here is a good selection for those who have trouble finding their size!
3/1/14 - Watch for lots of new jewelry items coming soon! Thanks to Mary Soucy of BeadMeAStory for her DIY tutorials and photo ideas. Also check out lots of additions to my Favorites, now in two lists - Items I Love and Great Supplies. --
Some of my latest projects: Redoing a number of the photos, and reorganizing the item categories.
For several months I was looking for the best way to remove the dusty residue that sometimes appears on rubber O-rings that I use in making stretch chainmaille jewelry. I found this info on The RingLord website regarding cleaning the rubber rings: "Hot soapy water... any white powder is a mold release agent used in casting the rings - this can be washed off." I tried the soap-and-water method and it didn't work, so using loose rings, I tried some plant-based oils. Glycerine, almond oil, aloe, any pure plant oil, works very nicely. Only a tiny bit is needed! I put a drop into my hands, then gently rubbed it into a handful of rings. It works on finished jewelry too. A word of warning if you ever clean your jewelry this way: NEVER use mineral oil! It can damage or dissolve rubber!
