So I have decided to close my shop on Artfire as well as the shop on Goodsmiths. Once my year runs out on Zibbet, unless things drastically improve, I will be closing that as well. I will be keeping a minimal presence on Etsy, mostly because I belong to a great group there and have some really good friends that I interact with daily, not because I am fond of what Etsy has become. I will be concentrating on just my two stand alone sites, SilverRiverJewelry.com and SilverRiverGlass.com. I am working on moving all of my inventory over to those two site. Both sites take Paypal and I still accept Propay, so if you want to pay me directly via credit card you can message me and I will send an invoice. I am actually really excited about this, as I will no longer be pulled in 8 different directions and will be able to concentrate totally on marketing just one shop for the jewelry and one shop for the beads.
I am also selling beads with a group on Facebook called Lampwork Beads For Sale. It is a closed group, you do have to be a member to buy (or sell). However, all you have to do is request membership to join. Its a great group of people and there are beautiful beads by a lot of different lampworkers of all skill levels. Come check us out!
The sister group to that group is Lampwork Beads In Action which is a group dedicated to selling things made from the beads from Lampwork Beads For Sale. Since I make both I sell in both lol. This is also a closed group, same thing, just ask to join if you love jewelry using lampwork that is artisan made.
Just wanted to show this great pair of earrings made by one of my customers who bought some lampwork beads from me. I love to see what people make from my beads, its usually very different than what I would think of, so its really fun to see the different interpretations people make. And these are gorgeous! You can find this pretty pair of earrings in her shop on Artfire. Just click on the link or on the picture of the earrings.
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Its time for the annual Christmas in July sale in my Artfire shop! Use coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY and receive 20% off your entire purchase (not including shipping of course). This is a great opportunity to get started on some early Christmas shopping or to stock up on gifts for the rest of the year. Click on the link above or click on one of he pictures. Have fun shopping!
I will occasionally be having a guest writer for my blog. This will be the first of three to begin with. I would love your opinions on the content and if it was helpful in any way, or, if you just enjoyed reading it. And of course, I think my jewelry is the perfect compliment for making a unique, whimsical statement in your wardrobe!
It is often a glint of color or a bit of sparkle that first catches the eye. The onlooker pauses and then explores more deeply, taking in the fine textures of the materials, the workmanship and the sense of style that combine to create the look. This is not some judge at an art show or the art-lover visiting a gallery. I am talking about the person next to you on the bus, the couple across from you in the coffee shop, or the receptionist at your next appointment. T
he glints, the gleams and the layers of tasteful beauty that these onlookers appreciate are on you. You can wear them with confidence so you will not only look your best, but you can do so in a unique style that screams, I do not conform to the laws of “trendy” and “fashionable”. I am my own person.
To create this look, start with good, solid basics. If you’re dressing in jeans and a sweater, complement the look with a good belt. Hand-tooled leather with an intricate design would be good. Then add a tapestry cloth vest, one whose weaving is shot through with glints of bright silk in bold colors. Keep the fabrics of sweater and vest smooth and comfortable, and then make sure the jeans are not so plain or new that they clash. Softly worn denim with subtle overstitching for decoration would be a good choice. Tuck the jeans into a good pair of boots, well made, low heeled and not so high up on the calf that you resemble a member of the musketeers. Now, add a scarf, or maybe a boa? Do you have a special pair of earrings or a new suede cap? Begin to build on the basics, layer upon layer of pure “you”. After all, your outfit is sort of the window dressing on the person you are displaying to the world. Make sure that yours complements and never clashes with the person you wish to be seen as when you venture out.
So, maybe, you don’t have all of the elements. That’s fine. You have basics, or you’d never make it out of the house. Experiment. A splash of color or a glimmer of jewelry can make a dull suit or dress sing an aria, and the song will be of your own composing. Keep the layers light, so you can add or subtract without feeling like you’re molting, and feel free to change them about as the day and your needs change. For lunch, doff the cap and scarf, and let that beaded necklace that was hiding have a chance to peep out. You are a one-woman show in style, or at least that’s what you will appear to be.
The concept of layering is not new. Most, however, seem to think of it in conjunction with keeping warm. And while layers are great for added warmth, they can add drama or fun or mystery just as easily. So, have fun with the concept. Make a new statement every day, or simply modify the same one so that you are consistent, but never repetitive. It begins with a glint or a sparkle. Where it goes from there is up to you.
I am having a 10% off sale in my Artfire shop. Mostly just because I can lol! I am still working on adding all of my etsy inventory to my artfire shop and also adding all the new stuff as I am making it. Have been kind of taking it easy and trying to enjoy the outdoors while it is nice out so I am not working on a huge amount of new stuff at the moment. Anyway, Everything in my artfire shop is marked down 10% already and if you mention my blog in the notes to seller I will give you free shipping as well. I will refund the shipping when you order. This is a great time to start your Christmas shopping or just to treat yourself to something special. Check back often as I will be adding a lot more inverntroy in the months to come. Have fun shopping!
1000Markets is another beautiful venue for those of you who love to shop. This particular market is one of the markets I am a member of and we will be doing these outfits on a regular basis so come check us out often!
Introducing our total outfit blog series. We, as a market will be putting together at least one total outfit a month to give you an idea of the many wonderful ways that you can combine items from our market into a unique and truly beautiful outfit from casual wear to serious dressing up and going out wear! This is our first pick for you in this series. Beautiful bright summer colors, perfect for a day at the zoo or a picnic at the park, a walk on the pier or a fun lunch at your favorite restaurant! All of these lovely items are handmade and available from the artisans in our market!
!!MOTHER"S DAY SALE!! I am currently having a Mother's Day sale in my Artfire shop. Please come by and check it out I have almost 200 items listed and will continue to add more items as I go. The entire shop has been marked down so no re doing invoices or anything. Also if you check out the rapid cart feature on the side you can purchase directly from here without having to go to my shop at all lol! Pretty cool feature, thanks Artfire!
CCTEXAN3 Well here is the opportunity of a lifetime. A friend of mine over on Artfire is having a really good sale. And yes she is my direct competition lol! Believe it or not many of us are good friends and we don't really see it as competition, we share lots of ideas, advice and we all share one very important thing which is a love of making jewelry in whatever medium our particular passions are in. Any way CC is having an awesome BUY ONE GET ONE FREE Sale. She has two pages of stuff on sale to choose from and she has an incredible eye for color so if you are looking for something for Mother's Day or just want to surprise someone special in your life this is the place to look first.
So, I have to say I am very happy that the holidays are over. January doesn't really seem to be moving any slower though lol!
As previously mentioned I am expanding my selling venues on some fronts and getting rid of some on other fronts. One of the Ivenues I am going to be using quite a bit is artfire. Lovely community, great artists and lots of things to choose from. I came across a fabulous glass artist in the forums there. Her name is Tanya and her shop is ArtisticAccentsEtc-artglass. Now I do little bit of glass fusing, mostly for the fun of it but when I saw her shop I started to drool. Now I know that drooling is not that attractive but I really couldn't help it lol! Wonderful work, some of the best that I have seen and I strongly encourage you to go take a look at her shop. They are planning on adding many more pieces so I would encourage you to check back with her shop often. Below are a couple of words from Tanya about her and her family's business.
" I am a 33 year old glass artist from Chicago. I have been working with glass for about 8 years. This is now our family business and we have never been happier to be able to create our glass art full time. We are constantly trying new techniques and furthering our education in glass art to bring cutting edge designs to the art and jewelry lovers alike. Our techniques included, fusing, lampworking & blown glass."
So as you can see by the photos (and this is a small sampling of what she has) there is something for everyone in her shop. If you haven't spent your Christmas money yet (or even if you have lol) this would be a great place to shop at.
Check out this event at http://www.fashionsensei.wordpress.com . She has the most amazing fashion blog and will be having some excellent, one of a kind offers from many online shops. If you are shopping on Cyber Monday you need to make this your first stop!
Come celebrate the official kick off to the online holiday shopping season with Fashion Sensei's "Cyber Monday Madness!" Enjoy ExclusiveDiscounts, ONE HOUR Web Busters and amazing ONE HOUR Giveaways. You won't want to miss it!
For those of you who are fans of etsy here is a website to check out every day. Sharon has devoted this website as a giant etsy show case of her favorite picks of the the day. Each day features a different theme with different items from all over etsy. She featured red the other day and was kind enough to put my stich markers, shown in the picture, in her showcase. What a a nice thing to do for us! Thanks Sharon! http://www.redladyart.com
So for all of you who are looking for cool place to shop for Christmas, birthdays, weddings, baby showers and everything in between go check it out every day. You are sure to find something for everyone on your list and you won't even have to leave the house.
Sorry it took so long, it has been really nuts around my house. (See previous post to see why!). Everyone comes to my house for Thanksgiving also so I need to clean and cook and ..... I have called my daughter off of school tomorrow to help ( she is fourteen). She asked to stay home and help cook and since she is a 4.0 student and has only missed one day I said yes. (and I really need the help). So anyway here are two more of my favorite Etsy artists with some really unique and fun things.
HIPHOSTAGE
Donna has some really cool vintage items in her shop. I don't know a whole lot about vintage but I keep going back to check and see if she has made any other great finds! Donna has done some selling on the other e site (whose name shall not be mentioned lol!) and has decided that Etsy has some unique features and that she would give it a try. She is also a member of the CASTTEAM (Christian Artist Street Team) and Etsy Believers. Not only does she have super cool items in her shop, she is a great person too. I have never seen a negative post from her in the forums (mind you this can be difficult to do some days!) and she is always encouraging. Check out her shop for some great items!
STEREOETTE
Joi is originally from Texas and currently in New York with some really unique things. She makes jewelry, sews clothing, makes bags, fuses glass and screen prints cards and fabric. In her spare time. I found her items to be unique and interesting and I have never seen anyone meld acrylic with metal in the way that she does. Very cool! If you are looking for something unique and different and just a little bit quirky then her shop is the one you want to check out! I also have to mention that she is one of the people who generously shared some information on beginning metal smithing with me that was very helpful and saved me a good bit of time and money in my search for what I needed to get started. Not everyone is willing to take the extra time to help out a beginner. So thanks Joi!
Well it's time to check out some more great Etsy artists. The more time I spend in the forums and browsing the treasury, showcase and time machine, the more wonderful work I see. I have a feeling that there are going to many more editions featuring Etsy artists. Here is this weeks list.
FujiiroFae Cassandra makes the most beautiful hair ornaments using a Japanese technique called TSUMAMIKANZASHI. Tsumami is the technique of using squares of silk to make flowers, birds or butterflies and is apparently a very old technique. I think the bright colors of the silk and the delicate petals are very unique and charming. These would make a wonderful gift for the holidays so go check her out.
JaredArt
Jared In Kansas
Jared is a multi-talented guy. Not only does he do original drawings and paintings he also takes beautiful photos. (more on those in a minute). I am totally drawn to the simplicity <---and passion and the use of color in these pieces of art. Then there is the photo side of the equation ha ha(read his profile you'll get it) which also rocks. Two sides of the same coin equal some really great talent in both the paint and pencil arena and the photography arena. Definitely worth the look.
Those are my two artists for this week. You can check out there shops by following the links on the right side of my blog. I think I will keep this to two or three artists a week instead of aiming for four or five due to the holidays rapidly approaching. I will have an update on the puppies in the next couple of days.
I ordered a bar of doggy soap from HelloCraftya couple of weeks ago and
LOVED it! Not only was the soap really easy to apply (way better than the liquid shampoo) it smelled great, was really easyto rinse out (I have dogs that have a heavy undercoat so this is a real plus!), but our oldest has skin issues and after using this on him he didn't scratch for a couple of days. (miracles DO happen lol). It also left their coats super soft. I was really pleased with this product and will most definitely purchase more. I will also be purchasing some soap for myself!
SimplicityInteriors
I found this shop while I was in the forums (I actually find a lot of really cool shops and people in the forums). I just loved the color and pattern choices that Christie chooses for her pillow covers. Particularly the one on the left. I really like the idea of pillow covers. They are washable and easy to change if you decide to switch color schemes or if you change things out for the holidays.
Begurple
Lauren makes the most beautiful, elegant and fun hairpieces that I have seen in a long time. Anyone have a wedding coming up? Talk to Lauren, I bet you'll have the most beautiful hair pieces in town. Mardi Gras or Halloween or maybe just a fancy piece for going to the opera or out on the town this is the shop to check out.
YadaYadaYada
Hilary and her husband Asher make the cutest embroidered
t-shirts and onesies for little ones. I believe Asher is responsible for the original artwork and Hilary is responsible for converting the design into the finished, embroidered piece.They have a large selection to choose from and every time I check out their shop I wish mine were still little enough to let me dress them lol! I guess I will just have to wait for grandkids although I have them marked if I need a baby shower gift.
So I have decided to close my shop on Artfire as well as the shop on Goodsmiths. Once my year runs out on Zibbet, unless things drastically improve, I will be closing that as well. I will be keeping a minimal presence on Etsy, mostly because I belong to a great group there and have some really good friends that I interact with daily, not because I am fond of what Etsy has become. I will be concentrating on just my two stand alone sites, SilverRiverJewelry.com and SilverRiverGlass.com. I am working on moving all of my inventory over to those two site. Both sites take Paypal and I still accept Propay, so if you want to pay me directly via credit card you can message me and I will send an invoice. I am actually really excited about this, as I will no longer be pulled in 8 different directions and will be able to concentrate totally on marketing just one shop for the jewelry and one shop for the beads.
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