Not So Stinky Oxidizing Adventure

I wanted to start oxidizing my copper jewelry pieces a long time ago, and actually tried the hard boiled eggs method before, but it was taking so damn long and was wasting so much food, that I knew I had to get the proper “liver of sulfur” (a.k.a. LOS). A tiny problem – I had to order it online.. and I was over-researching (as usual) and procrastinating. You know, the fear of ordering the “wrong” product. Probably. Or the fear of buying notoriously stinky stuff? Although we are very much used to buying something for the first time nowadays, for the types like me it takes ages to thoroughly research all options..

Hooked on Hoops – new beaded hoop earrings

Yep, I am. Totally hooked on wire wrapping hoop earrings lately. And it seams that each time I try to make the same earring design twice, I end up with something quite different. Like the moonstone hoops below – after the first design was sold, I wanted to make another one to put in my shop… And created two more moonstone hoops none of which really replaces the sold one. To be completely honest with you, I still haven’t managed to do the design I had in mind before I started wire wrapping this first pair..

Handmade Polymer Clay Beads .. destash

I love playing with colors and creating / crafting polymer clay beads, not so much – finishing them, and it seems I totally cannot come around to using them in my designs recently. So after hoarding saving them for over a year, I’ve decided to go ahead and offer these beads for sale in my Etsy shop.

So here’s the line up of my theoretically homeless handmade polymer clay beads (clicking on photo will take you to the Etsy listing):

How to safely package earrings for shipping

What to do when your earring cards don’t fit in the gift box you have?
Selling handmade jewelry is fun, a day that brings a double sale is twice as fun.. until it’s time to pack and you realize that your packing plan just doesn’t work and does not guarantee the package will travel safely across the globe.
Join me on this mini earring packing adventure – a simple “how to” full of pictures and some words

Last Sumer Night: beaded beads in green and black

Friends and family often make fun of me because I simply cannot leave home without my beads.. and wire.. and tools..

A family picnic, a walk to the lake, a three week hitch-hiking trip across Europe.. my beads are going too! Even when I know for sure that I will hardly have time to create, it somehow feels better to have them.. you know, “just in case”

Old Beads, Fresh Earrings

I must tell you, my handmade polymer clay beads are very much used to just lying around. First they wait for me to bake them, then I need to gather up all my patience to finish them – each bead must be individually sanded with several grits of sandpaper and buffed to bring out the soft natural sheen of the polymer clay. And then finally some more lying around until I feel like using them

First Craft Show – Lessons Learned

Reflecting on my first open air craft show… Some thoughts, notes and tips.

Overall the experience was great and a real adventure too! The only serious “mistake” was the weather and, sadly, it’s something I have no power to control. But I should learn to take the weather forecast more seriously. Especially when the forecast is stable for several days before the show, hoping that the meteorologists might be wrong yet again is just over optimistic stubborn.

Exploring Pondo Stitch a.k.a. African Circle Stitch

I’ve discovered this traditional tribal South African beadwork stitch in The Bead Book magazine (Issue 6; 2007) and just had to try it straight away! It looked different, it looked simple and (deceptively) easy. The instructions in the magazine are written by Susan Mandel (USA) and Nicholas Kap (JHB, RSA).

Amethyst spiral rope

Or should I call it ‘the never-ending spiral’?

I just love how it turned out but the process of beadweaving seems to take forever! It’s literally one bead forward five beads back. One stitch adds only one seed bead worth of the necklace lenght. Just consider the fact that 3 meters of thread make only 21-22 cm of the chain!

Don’t know how long it took me to finish the lenght of the neclace, but I’ve been working on it on and off for the whole weekend