Tasty Eccentricities

Jewelry Update

2011-07-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

Now that I've figured out how to work with filigree properly, naturally I've got to take it to the next level, right? Well, I've stepped up and started layering the filigree to create some truly spectacular pendants (I say this without a single bit of ego ... it's the pieces I use that I love and what they become, not my skill). I mostly had silver pieces this round, and I'll try to have more brass and more bright autumn colors the next wave. You'll notice that I love the wheel buttons, dragons, and pansies this time around. I don't know when I'll get tired of them; I do love them so.

I also had some drama with new staging props, since the Etsy front page tends to favor a white background, and I'm a contrarian and prefer a rich, dark, textured background. Well, they can take my dark background (at least for non-gothic pieces), but I'll be damned if they take my texture, too.

I went shopping last week, looking for certain things that I can use, and wouldn't you know it, after 2-3 hours, I found nothing. So I came back home, sulked and regrouped, and then started looking around the house for new things to work with. I found a large off-white pillow sheet, a mirror, a white feathered hat, and a pewter plate. I'll still use my black velvet for the gothic pieces, but we'll see how this new staging translates in my store. I actually find it harder to manage light in the lighter background, so I'll have to play with it a bit.

Some of them are already up in my Etsy shop, and some are yet to come over the next week. Most of the ones below are the more ornate ones, but I've also got some simpler ones in the mix.

The Other Magdalene: Elegant and Eccentric Jewelry

Soul in Flight butterfly necklace

Rose Window Spirit of Fire necklace - Easily my favorite of this group of wheel buttons.

Pansy II necklace - I love the way it's only partially purple, with the white.

Pansy III necklace

Neovictorian Bride V necklace - Isn't she just beautiful?

Juliet necklace

Jasmine earrings - Named for the flower, not the princess.

Foliage necklace

Dragon Guardians necklace - One of my favorite fantasy pieces.

Cloud Dragon bracelet - I made a bracelet. This just doesn't happen often.

Winter Moon necklace

Blood on the Moon werewolf necklace

HP-themed Giveaway Winners

2011-07-04T22:29:00.001-07:00

The winner of the Griffin Pride necklace is philstar.

The winner of the Draconian necklace is alex d..

If y'all will e-mail me your home addresses to theothermagdalene(at)yahoo(dot)com, I'll ship your necklaces to you as soon as possible.

Thanks, everyone, for playing!

HP-themed Giveaway

2011-06-27T15:28:00.000-07:00

I know this is short notice, but maybe that'll make it more fun. I'm giving away two necklaces that were made completely independent of Harry Potter that nevertheless fit in with it very well.

Draconian necklace
Griffin Pride necklace

The giveaway contest starts today, June 27, and ends Monday, July 3, at 11:59 p.m.

Here are the conditions of the contest - each thing you do gets you an extra ticket in the drawing:

1) Tell me your favorite HP character and why in the comments. Are you a huge fan? Do you ship anyone? Are you a Gryffindor or Slytherin (or Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw)? Will you be going to the last movie on the opening night? (One ticket)

2) Go to the Etsy links and heart which one you would want if you won (you do have to pick). Post in the comments that you've done so. (One ticket)

3) Post about this giveaway on Twitter and Facebook. Post in the comments that you've done so, with a link to your accounts if you can. (Maximum one ticket each)

4) Post about this giveaway on your blog. Post in the comments that you've done so, preferably with a link. (One ticket)

5) From now until the end of July 4, if you purchase an item or items of mine, you get one ticket per $10 (and I will round up, so a purchase of $36 dollars will count as 4 tickets). Post in the comments that you've done so.

Be sure to include your name and e-mail where I can contact you.
The people hearting the Griffin Pride necklace will be in a separate drawing from the Draconian necklace.

After midnight on July 5, I'll draw names and post the winners on this blog!

Have fun, and share with friends.

(If you have any trouble posting, you can send your info to my email at theothermagdalene(at)yahoo(dot)com.)

Jewelry Update

2010-10-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

I started a few new series within my existing jewelry design series, both evocative and one a little harder to design than others. You'll see a few more common themes in my new creations, a few of which have not come into my shop yet, including gorgeous czech glass buttons and chandelier glass. (Coming soon: fantasy in silver, bright and tasty colors with contemporary lines, somewhat creepy mourning cameos, winter designs.)

My jewelry items are wonderful for one-of-a-kind gift items, especially in the fall and winter months. And I've been working on commissioned items as well, so if you have an idea you think I can tackle, let me know. There's still some time for Halloween jewelry in the spirit of the season or for your costume.

One of the new series that I love and would like to expand on is the Cathedral series under the Elysia series, which integrates filigree wrapping and bright czech glass buttons that remind me of rose windows. I've actually had these buttons for over a year, fighting with glue to make them work with the filigree, but they just didn't work because they were too big and the filigree wasn't flat (less surface area to glue). I was ecstatic when I realized that I could wrap the filigree around them for a solid hold that would display the buttons beautifully. As soon as I have the capital, I hope to expand on the Cathedral series beyond the six pieces I have now. Basically, my Cathedral series and some of the other filigree-wrapped items are what I've been wanting to make since the beginning.

The second series I've begun is the Apocalypse series under the Bountiful Winepress. I figure I might as well take my fear by the horns and make something beautiful and dark with it. I'm not entirely positive where I'm going with it, but I've got a good start with the Apocalypse at Sunset necklace (below) and The Beast Falls necklace.

Below are some of my new Cathedral pieces and gothic and Halloween pieces from the last wave of jewelry.

Apocalypse at Sunset necklace

Bitten Pretty vampire chandelier necklace

Black Widow Bite button necklace

Witching Hour chandelier necklace

Autumnal Beauty chandelier necklace

All Hallows Eve Dark Moon filigree necklace

Cathedral Rose Window I emerald iridescent filigree wrap necklace

Esmeralda necklace (smaller version here: Esme necklace)

Oval Cupola Cathedral Rose Window II button filigree wrap necklace

Cathedral at Dawn vintage glass filigree wrap necklace

All is Vanity peacock filigree wrap necklace

Reaching a Goal

2010-03-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

It has been my albeit casual goal to sell at least one item a week for one year. For Etsy, it seemed a not unattainable goal, a sign of relatively good business, so it was a good number to shoot for. Naturally, I would like to be selling better than that, but since I sell more as a hobbyist than as a businesswoman, I'm continue with moderate success.

My first shop, http://magdalune.etsy.com, failed in this respect, even though I'm not entirely sure why. I think that the ice cream sundae jewelry was inventive and cute, but it just did not catch on. So I eventually moved nicer designs to a new shop to let a more refined creativity run wild. At http://theothermagdalene.etsy.com, I finally managed to hit my stride. I've only been there ten months rather than my goal of one year, but I have already sold 52 items in my shop. Some items have been sold outside of the store, but others have been traded, so I figure it evens out.

I'm sure some people are asking how I did it because they want to manage it, too. The truth is, I'm not sure. I can list things I think may have contributed, but I don't have any hard evidence for any of it. It's entirely possible that the success is based as much on luck as skill. Anyway, here's the informal list:

1) Selection: My second shop did not really take off until I had almost or over a hundred items in my store. The key for me was variety - not necessarily something of everything, which would leave the store so eclectic you wouldn't be able to put a finger on what it was for. More like letting my imagination run wild within a broad category. My design series opened up whole avenues of artistic direction, but my personal preferences managed to keep even the wackiest idea cohesive.

2) Solid Photography: I know that I'm not the best photographer on Etsy, not by a long shot. I probably start shooting too late in the day, although I am partial to shadows. And sometimes the focus is in the wrong place or not sharp enough, but the thing I try to bring to each photo is enough clarity to see the jewelry in its truest form. My photography is unforgiving. If my jewelry still looks good, it goes into the store. I've had to put jewelry in the reject pile (i.e. my own jewelry box) because it didn't photograph well, even if the flaws aren't noticed in real life.

3) Style Cohesion: This draws from the previous two in that there has to be an underlying sense that these jewelry pieces are yours. When people see it, they have to have a sense of what the rest of the shop is like. And part of a way to do this, especially when you're as artistically restless as I am, is to stage your items similarly. Not the same - variety is the spice of life, and people don't want to see the same thing over and over again. I personally have established props. Sometimes these props change. For instance, I started out with one silver teapot, moved to another, then moved back to the original because I liked it more. I started out with one silver cup and moved to another one, then found the one I liked. I've stuck with that one. I started out with two books to shoot on instead of one. I used to keep my angles within the confines of my black velvet backdrop, but now I'm enjoying breaking the illusion a bit and getting some of the rest of the surroundings in as well. But it's all the same place, the same props, the same atmosphere. It's all mine.

And once that cohesion starts to come apart, sometimes you have to create another shop. That's what led to my second shop in the first place: I had nicer things that just didn't mesh with the cuter and even younger-themed items in my shop. And now that I'm learning how to wrap and weave wire more artistically, I may have to create another shop. The new wire-wrapped and wire-woven pieces just don't seem to fit as well with the rest of my things, and they're out of the average price range. So you need to be willing to branch out and acknowledge when something just doesn't fit.

4) Networking: I'm one of those people who doesn't like to impose my entrepreneurial spirit on others. I can do it pretty well on Twitter because it doesn't take up too much time and space. I'm getting better at being more open about it on Facebook, in part because many of the things that I share on Facebook I'm genuinely excited about as a person - a jewelry artist and not just a jewelry seller. And now that I've started wearing more and more of my jewelry that I make for myself, more people are asking about where I get it, whether I made it, and whether they can see what I make. Now that's a relative term, "more," but it's still accurate. A friend of mine has bought several jewelry pieces; a coworker bought a pair of earrings; my mother has also bought several pieces. I also give some out as gifts to friends and relatives (I keep to my gift budget, as if I were buying them the gift rather than making it).

Part of it is that I make stuff I would love to wear myself, so I know there's a market for it, for at least one person. :) You do need to be willing to tell people about it when they ask. I pass on the link to my shop without shame, which is a lot for someone who easily feels like they've crossed the boundaries of politeness. And you do need to be willing to use social media. I'm not positive how much Twitter helped, although it's probably helped provide some exposure and interaction with other artists, but I'm fairly certain that Livejournal and Facebook have made a difference, in part because people get involved in the process and the creativity behind the jewelry making.

You'll notice that I don't have a marketing plan or statistics. I don't look at fashion magazines or see what's popular or not. I go by what I myself like and want, sometimes inspired by things I see, and sometimes inspired by things I just imagine. Hell, sometimes I just sit in front of my beads and findings and just let myself go crazy without a plan. Since jewelry making is therapeutic for me, I figure that I'm getting something out of it no matter what, and anything might capture someone's interest.

Don't take my business advice. Seriously. If what I run is a business, then I suck at it. But I think I manage a nice little corner shop, my little niche of the handmade market, and I love sending out my things every week to other people who will enjoy them.

Starstruck

2010-02-19T13:19:00.001-08:00

So I have some very cool news regarding my jewelry-making that I'm finally able to share:

One of my necklaces is going to be in a movie! My From the Shadows Gargoyle Guardian gothic necklace is going to be in the movie Beyond the Farthest Star. According to the costume designer who purchased the necklace today, it's not just a costume piece but a major plot point. An adopted teen with a gothic fashion sense meets her biological father, who is interested in coming back into her life. He gets her the necklace because he thinks it's something she'll like, and she ends up wearing it for about half the movie. Family-friendly movie that might end up as just a DVD release, sure. But I'm damn tickled at the whole situation!

The costume designer also said that she found several possible designs on eBay and other stores, but she liked mine best, and the director pointed at it and said it was perfect for what they were going for. She'll keep me apprised of what's going on and whether there will be a screening. They're shooting in Dallas, and part of the contract for shooting somewhere is that you have to purchase a certain percentage of props and costumes and stuff like that in-state. So the fact that the necklace she wanted was in Texas, and close to Dallas, that was just a bonus.

I'm beyond thrilled. :D

What I've Been Up To

2010-01-31T19:43:00.001-08:00

What I've been doing lately still isn't breaking a lot of the mold. Mostly, I'm honing the basics, especially wrapping briolettes. The "Absinthe Drops" to the left are larger briolettes made from glass, while the "Somewhere Beyond the Sea" earrings to the right are much smaller briolettes made from blue chalcedony. I'm working my way up until I'm comfortable with nicer stones and possibly nicer wire. I still work with silver plate and brass because I don't trust myself with sterling or gold. However, at least as far as basic wrapping goes, I'm really beginning to trust my hand and the process.

From basic briolette wrapping, I want to try coiling and wire weaving, and general wire sculpture in the jewelry arena. I've started a bit of it with the "Baroness" necklace to the left, the spiral wire wrapping. I'm actually really proud of that one - it's definitely a step up. It took some work with my brass wire before I understood the concept. I'm doing this mostly self-taught, by looking at other people's finished products and watching the path of the wire. At some point, I'm either going to need to buy tutorials or start experimenting on my own. I hope that the experimentation works. At the very least, wire wrapping and wire weaving is my back-up for my glue. I haven't been very pleased with all the attempts I've made to find a dependable glue, especially since, in some cases, soldering isn't an option. Of course, I don't put anything in my shop that I haven't made sure is adhered, but I've had other things that I haven't been able to put into the shop because it just hasn't worked. Wire wrapping can help by holding things together even more, so I may use it and glue together sometimes in order to make some really solid pieces. But I need to trust my wire sculpting skills first. Unfortunately, the cheap crafting wire you get at big craft stores is half hard, which means that it isn't as malleable or as easy to hammer. It makes knowing whether I've got a technique down hard to determine because I don't know how much easier it will be when working with dead soft material.

Another thing that's keeping me from honing my wire-wrapping skill is the need for perfection. It's very frustrating, knowing that practice makes perfect, but that of course it's not going to be perfect when I try. I know it's a stupid, self-defeating way of thinking, but I can't help it. I had planned to try a three-base wire woven bracelet, but I keep putting it off, so I think I'll try a two-base wire woven donut bead bail first, then maybe a teardrop coil pair of earrings. I also want to try some hoop earrings, but I don't have the right oxidized brass wire for that right now. I need 20g, and I only have 21g. It makes a difference. I may try it with the 21g in case it works. Or maybe I can come up with a play on 18g plus 21g. Not sure how I'm going to manage it yet. I'm still building designs in my mind. I get frustrated when what's in my mind can't make it to my hands. I think it's the curse of the creative, though, not always being able to duplicate the mind's eye.

In the meantime, the best way to get through the worry is to do something new with what I already know. I recently received some awesome Czech glass beads with really unique finish and color, such as the "Creme Brulee and Apple Pie Dessert" cluster earrings to the right above. I also took a risk with some of my old filigree I didn't know what to do with and tried oxidizing it with fire. I half expected it to melt. Instead, I got this wonderful oil slick rainbow that's subtle in certain lights and filigrees but is occasionally bright in others. I call them my Rainbow Connection subseries within the Elysia design series. The Elysia series, easily my favorite because I get to play around in the fantasy world, or the magical or mystical side of things, has really grown. There's almost more jewelry in the Elysia section than my Dulce section, which acts as a catch-all for items that don't fit into any of my other sections.

The Elysia series inspired me to search for new components, including the new Czech glass beads and the recent gemstone package I received. It'll also receive the bulk of my wire-wrapping items once I get a handle on that and get the series off the ground. Or maybe I'll create a whole new series for that ... that's still up in the air. In any case, in addition to items that are simply inspired by the fantastic, there are items with charms of fantastic creatures and goddesses. Already, there's a leviathan (to the right), a hippocampus, Melusine, a mermaid (with more on the way), and several large butterflies. Coming soon, I have two types of gryphons, more dragons, a creepy fairy, a dark angel, Ceres, a fantastic tiger, and as I said, some more mermaids. It's not quite steampunk, but I still love it. Really indulges in my love of mythology and fairy tales.

And oh my goth, I've got some new things for my Bountiful Winepress gothic romance/vampire series, including this little guy on the left, my "Guardian" vampire bat necklace and different vampire bat medallion as well. I haven't received very much in the way of new deep red components, but I'm still working on that. And what I have received are two fangs for a pair of earrings. I'm really looking forward to that.

So, conclusion: Working on wire wrapping and weaving, and in the meantime, working delightedly with what I have and what I can do. December was my best month ever, and January has proved to be a pretty solid month for me, too. I have over 170 items in my shop right now, which is ... to tell you the truth, it's a bit much. But the important thing is that I have new things going in as much as possible.

Shop Link: www.theothermagdalene.etsy.com

Featured in PBJ Treasury

2009-11-17T20:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the blog silence. I'm really focused on my writing right now, and I've been having some glue trouble. I am in the middle of posting the next wave of Elysia designs (as well as some Bountiful Winepress ones as well), and I'll start posting Snow Queen winter-themed designs soon.

In the meantime, my fun lantern earrings were featured in this delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly Treasury.

First In-Person Shop Experience

2009-10-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

My church youth group hosted a community garage sale on October 24 (my birthday, incidentally) in order to raise money for an intensive youth Bible study pilgrimage. In addition to accepting secondhand items to sell, they rented out parking spaces in our giant parking lot a bit off-campus. As a sort of experiment to see whether I could sustain an in-person shopping environment, I decided to pay the entry fee in. At the very least, I would be donating money to the church youth, so I figured it would be a good cause all around. I fully expected to not make money (after all, most people were bringing secondhand stuff, and shoppers would be looking for deals), but I wanted a baseline experience in case I ever wanted to do jewelry parties or craft fairs.

I woke up before the crack of dawn at 6:20 a.m. For morning birds who don't understand night owls like me, this is the equivalent of you getting up at 3 a.m. I went to Walmart for a big frappuccino, then heading to the parking lot. It was still dark when I began to set things up, which was something I had not anticipated. Fortunately, I could see okay as the sun began to come up. A few weeks ago, I bought some jewelry display items from Craigslist for a great deal, and I was excited to use them. They ended up working really well, except when the wind picked up, and then I laid everything down flat.

It took an hour to put every piece out (and about fifteen minutes to put everything away at the end of the experience), but I'm really pleased with the result, especially considering how tiny my card table is. I was the smallest table at the flea market-like set-up, and a bit out of the way even though I was up front, but I had some adequate traffic.

I get flustered in social situations, especially ones in which I am asking for money. There was one woman who haggled me down to $20 on a $60-70 haul of jewelry, and frankly I'm still a little annoyed at that. I suspect that she used the language barrier between us to her advantage, but there is nothing to be done about it now.

There were a few jewelry casualties: a piece that I thought had welded actually hadn't, and a sharp jolt on the concrete after a gust of wind broke the two pieces apart (which is spurring me to try two-part epoxy as my next adhesive experiment). Another gust of wind blew over a whole necklace display from the back. Fortunately, none of the stones shattered, but one of the glass pieces looks like it might have been affected. I'll try and clean it off or remake it.

I sold some pieces, which as I said above was more than I expected to sell, so it was a success no matter what. I made enough money to comp the entry fee and most of the supplies. Since I'm mostly a hobbyist trying to act like a business woman, that's kind of bittersweet. Still, it's something, and it's experience. And I'm sure the people who bought the jewelry will enjoy them, so that's positive, too.

I've learned to bring a bigger table, and I hope that I can find a more appropriate venue for my jewelry next time, a venue where "the lowest prices evar" isn't usual. A more casual craft fair would be a good next bet, unless one of my coworkers wants a jewelry party. Next time I should bring a good-looking mirror as well as one dollar bills to make change. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, right?

Aside from needing a nap later and throwing off my sleep schedule, it was a better experience than I had been anticipating.

Featuring Honey Harvest Treasury

2009-10-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

If you haven't figured it out, I love honey colors. I periodically make treasuries to honor other people who love amber. Enjoy this Honey Harvest Treasury.

Featuring Opalescence Treasury

2009-10-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

I made this treasury from some of my favorite jewelry artists and then some - a gorgeous, mystical Opalescence Treasury in honor of the October birthstone.

Featured in Summer Treasury

2009-10-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

All those autumn treasuries, and I suddenly get picked for a wishful summer treasury. My "Throw in the Beach Towel" necklace was selected for the A Warm Summer Breeze Treasury.

Featured in Warm Autumn Glow Treasury

2009-10-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

My beautiful "Autumn Nights" orange carnelian earrings were featured in this Warm Autumn Glow Treasury.

I think part of the reason why I've been in so many treasuries at once later is that I love autumn colors - rich reds and ambers - so that I basically design for autumn and winter all year.

Introduction to Elysia

2009-10-02T15:25:00.001-07:00

Ever since I started making jewelry, this is the kind of jewelry I wanted to make. Richly textured pieces inspired by fantasy, mysticism, magic, enchantments, myths, both established and created by me. It's one step down from steampunk, which I would like to tackle as soon as I get a full grasp on creating items for this series. Elysia is a derivation of Elysium, the afterlife fields of the Greeks. It's not quite heaven, but it is sometimes referred to as a synonym of heaven. I also like the taste of the word, sibilant yet smooth, more than other names I considered.

When I am not making jewelry, I write supernatural short fiction and novels, so creating these jewelry pieces also enables me to create stories for each piece. Take, for instance, the "Trellis" necklace story or the "East of Eden" necklace story. Each item is micro-fiction, and while Elysia is certain the most expensive and time-consuming series I've done so far, it is also one of the ones closest to my strengths. The pieces require wire-wrapping beads onto chains, adhering buttons and cabs, counting out chain links, layering brass filigree... and this is only the beginning. I still have supplies for another wave or two, although I hope that this is the series that catches on. It epitomizes the objective of my store, which is to create elegant and eccentric jewelry. I only hope that other people appreciate the series as much as I do.

Each one of the Elysia pieces is awesome, but my favorite has to be the "Opium" necklace, with a Czech button that can either be interpreted as poppies or poinsettias.

You can find the first wave of Elysia necklaces and earrings here.

Featured in Texas Autumn Treasury

2009-09-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

Someone new to the Etsy Texas Crafter team chose to initiate herself into the group with a Texas Autumn Treasury featuring my "Harvest Moon" earrings.

Featured in Pumpkin Spice Treasury

2009-09-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

I should have a few posts up later in October, including one on photography and my new design series Elysia.

Fall is my favorite time of year, and I think most of my designs are more appropriate for cooler weather, especially my Honeyed series. One of my new pairs of earrings, "Cinnamon Honey Molten Lava," were picked for this awesome Pumpkin Spice Treasury.

New Design Series - Fruit Basket

2009-09-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly creating a new design series for my www.magdalune.etsy.com shop, partially in an attempt to revitalize it, and partially because I always need to be doing something new as my imagination strikes me.

This jewelry series looks good enough to eat, and the five earrings so far that comprise the series practically glow in the light. None of that glow about is manufactured - it just captures the light perfectly.

To the best of my knowledge, all the cabs are vintage, although I can only promise that the acrylic ones in the first picture are. Honestly, these earrings are just plain gorgeous and make a bright bold statement. Well worth the slightly higher price than most of the other things in my more casual and kitschy store.

Find my Fruit Basket series here.

Preview of Elysia

2009-09-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

This is a preview of a necklace for my www.theothermagdalene.etsy.com shop. Elysia is a design series inspired by the fantastic, characterized by the colorful, the fanciful, and the fictional. It's slow-going and it's taken a little more financial effort than I'm used to, but I think it'll be beautiful in the end.

BIG 30% OFF END OF SUMMER SALE

2009-09-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

The prices on these items are insanely low in honor of the end of summer. Full of ice cream sundae jewelry, a Summer Highlights series, and roses made from soda cans, it seems that my www.magdalune.etsy.com shop is made for summer.

My ice cream sundae jewelry is made with old-fashioned, nostalgic ice cream and soda shoppes in mind. They vary from the smaller pieces made from stones and the larger ones made from glass. You can also ask for custom flavors. Most of these are under $15 now, with a few even under $10!

My Summer Highlights series is made with huge, bold, and colorful resin beads that remind me of the best things about summer: beach balls, sand, ocean waves, Jello... Most of these are under $20 now, nearer to $15.

The soda rose series consists of soda cans folded to look like small roses. These are now between $10-20.

Stop by the shop over the next week or two and take advantage of these prices that do not happen often. You can save around $5-8 on some items.

$5 5th Monday Etsy Texas Crafter SALE

2009-08-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

That's right, ETC artists including me will mark down certain items in their shops to $5 in order to commemorate a fifth Monday of the month. In order to take advantage of these awesome deals on handmade goods, search for "ETC5" today only.

Both of my shops will have earrings available for $5, which can be up to 50% off.

In Magdalune's shop:
Mini Mint Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Mini Orange Sherbet Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Flavored Ice Cube earrings
Mini Chocolate Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Mini Vanilla and Caramel Swirl Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Mini Strawberry Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Glitter Beach Ball blue and white earrings

In TheOtherMagdalene's shop:
Golden Honey Amber Nugget brass bracelet
Crimson Cubed Gothic earrings
Marble Fudge 1 earrings
Marble Fudge 2 earrings
Strawberries and Cream silver earrings
Lemon and Honey in your Tea silver earrings
Golden Spun Sugar glass earrings

Progress Report

2009-08-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

Over the last month, I came into a bit of freelance money, and since I give myself half of that money to put into buying supplies, that meant that I was able to go a little crazy with new components. So weeks regularly felt like holidays for all the packages that I received. And suffice it to say, I'm excited about all the new components, although I still have more to buy as the money gradually comes in.

Once I finished my last freelance gig and let my hands rest from carpal tunnel syndrome and muscle strain (typing injuries are not fun), I got started on new jewelry pieces. As of now, most of my pieces are only partially constructed as components come trickling in. But I'm ecstatic about my fall and winter designs. I tend to make jewelry that's more appropriate for the colder seasons anyway - it's simply my preferred aesthetic. However, there's a sort of rush that you get when you're making something new, when you deviate from some of your old styles. I get to really experiment with layering, gluing, and wire-wrapping in a way that I haven't really done before. It's rough, raw, and occasionally frustrating, but I have quite a few products that just keep getting lovelier and lovelier.

A few things I'm trying, aside from using glue for cabochons:

- I've come up with a new series to stimulate some activity on my first shop. There is not much more that I can do regarding ice cream sundae flavors (except get more expensive components and making them appeal to a different subset of the population, which I'm considering), and the soda roses are incredibly time-consuming for something that really hasn't taken off. So be on the look-out for "Fruit Salad," brightly colored glass and acrylic jewelry that practically glows. They look awesome.

- Layering brass filigree and glass components. Gluing in general is new to me, but gluing filigree requires a little finesse in order to keep the glue from being seen or felt.

- Some of my necklaces are not going to be as minimalistic in my second shop as they have been. I want to dive into more fanciful and fantastic items that draw on the imagination. Keep an eye on my second shop for the new series "Elysia."

What I love about both of my shops is that they don't tie me down to just one or two styles. I can go pretty nuts, limited only by my ability. And in that respect, I'm still learning. My wire-wrapping is getting a little better, which is good because it's probably one of the more frustrating disciplines for me since I go through wire that I don't want to waste.

Sharing My Favorites

2009-08-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

As a jewelry seller, I sell a respectable amount of items, although not nearly as much as I would like. Each one of my sales are special – I have not yet reached a point of being blasé about sales. Each one is unexpected; each one gives me that frisson of excitement. However, it is an extraordinary pleasure when my favorites (and everyone has favorites) are selected. Recently, two of my favorite necklaces were sold to different people, and it was a genuine pleasure to send them off, knowing that someone else would love them as much as I did.

My dark red carnelian beaded necklace “A Cordial Greeting” was my first necklace I made with more expensive supplies, and I fell in love with it the minute it was finished. I had been wanting to make something inspired by my love of the Dracula story for a while, and this was my first attempt at the gothic. Naturally, it inspired me to make an entire series based on it. Just a week or two ago, the necklace went off. I may or may not replace this one in my shop – I’m not sure whether I have enough carnelian. But I shall certainly try.

Just a few days later (when it rains, it pours), “Crystal Vial” was sold to a woman in Greece! It was my first international order, and “Crystal Vial” was easily my favorite necklace in my entire collection. It was also my first creation specifically for the new shop. I had bought the chandelier drops months ahead, knowing that I desperately wanted to use them for gothic pendants once I knew how to wrap wire. First I made a necklace for the shop, and then I finally made one for myself. I wear it a few times every week, and it’s such a strange but lovely feeling to know that someone halfway across the world will love it as much as I do. In her feedback, she said it was her dream necklace, and I’m so glad that she agrees with me. It’s what you might call my shop’s signature necklace, and I hope I can make another one in the month ahead while I’m creating for fall.

Suffice to say, it is not the excitement of commerce that really gets me creating. At best, my sales comp a small percentage of my supplies that I buy. However, I get excited knowing that other people have the same aesthetic taste as I do and can enjoy the things I create in their daily life.

Featured in Coffee Treasury

2009-08-17T16:14:00.001-07:00

My "Coffee and Chocolate Shop" bracelet was featured in this beautifully mellow and caffeinated Coffee Treasury.

Featured in Rose Treasury

2009-08-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

One of my red soda rose necklaces was featured in this beautiful Rose Treasury. Check it out!

Featured in Lady in Red Treasury

2009-08-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

My "Imposter" gothic romance Bountiful Winepress necklace is featured in the Lady in Red Etsy Treasury here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=74095

Etsy Suppliers

2009-08-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

Amethystine earrings

Short of getting a sale and maybe finishing a good jewelry piece, there is nothing more exciting for me in the jewelry-making process than buying jewelry components and getting them in the mail. I go nuts over new ear wires. I cheer over new beads. I have to go like a little girl and show my mom all the pretty new things I have to work with.

Since my beginning with Etsy, I've been building up a supplier base. Some suppliers I can only dream about buying from them. Others, I buy from all the time. Others, I've been saving them for such a time as this when I'm about to get a respectable influx of spending money to invest.

While my Etsy selling forays are never as successful as I hope, I continue to provide business to Etsy suppliers, since they have to make a living, too. I feel glad that I have the opportunity to develop a working relationship with them. I love finally being able to buy from sellers who I hearted months ago. I love it when I find new suppliers with beautiful new or vintage items, just the unique components that I'm looking for. My aesthetic isn't unique, per se, but it is particular.

I also don't tend to buy in bulk, although I know that many Etsians recommend it. Hell, even I recommend it. However, most of the time I can't afford bulk buys. I have to purchase components one bit at a time. For instance, right now, I'm mostly able to work in oxidized and antiqued brass, but that's about it. I would love to work in silver, but it's much more expensive than brass. Even working in copper would be difficult, cheap as it is, since I would have to develop a whole new range of jewelry findings and components. I intend to work on that in the future, but for now I work with what I have. And there are plenty of gorgeous components in brass anyway, so I don't complain too loudly. It was so enjoyable to find the right suppliers for my needs when I first started to go into oxidized brass. Now I'm a loyal customer to many of these suppliers.

I don't hide my suppliers, although I don't automatically reveal them either - part of it is that whole "nothing new under the sun" idea. If anyone wanted to look where I get all my supplies, they could find them easily. But I urge everyone to find their own way, discover their own suppliers. I'm one of those people who isn't bothered by the imprecise Etsy search. Sometimes I don't find what I'm looking for, but I usually discover something I didn't even know I wanted.

Featured in Darkness Treasury

2009-07-29T22:53:00.001-07:00

My lovely, gothic "Golden Serpent Scales" chainmaille earrings were chosen for this beautiful Etsy Treasury: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=73151

2009-07-22T15:26:00.001-07:00

Sigh. Sadly, the realities of finances are keeping me from doing much more in the jewelry department. I have half-finished pendants waiting for the rest of their components; I have ideas without materials. It's a frustrating world, but there is little I can do about it but wait. And maybe give some artists some showcases. We'll see about that during the next few weeks.

I'll probably do more writing. Unfortunately, not my writing, since I have everyone else's writing to do right now.

Sunday Showcase

2009-07-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Vampire Tears earrings

I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for the gothic aesthetic, particularly when a piece can be used for other purposes as well. My Bountiful Winepress series is inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, and I consider it more gothic romance than pure gothic jewelry. The brass, filigree, and cut of the glass or style of the jewelry has an air of refinement that undeniably hints at something dark, yet beautiful. I may stick to a few colors in this series, but it will be interesting to see how many things I can come up with within the aesthetic before I have to find something else.

Opalescent Treasury

2009-07-18T12:39:00.001-07:00

Check out this ethereal Etsy Treasury made from the inspiration in the top center and working outward with the search term "opalescent." A lovely, darkly rainbow-colored collection of items.

What I Do

2009-07-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

Autumn Nights earrings

I have two stores. One has ice cream sundae jewelry, soda rose necklaces, and bold and colorful resin ball necklaces. I call it my casual and kitschy store for cute and fun items. My other store was made so that my first store didn't seem cluttered with too many themes. I like a variety of things in one place, but too much variety ends up looking like a junk store and doesn't look consistent. The second store is for my elegant and eccentric jewelry that can be dressed up or down. Most of it is elegant with a dash of eccentric - some nostalgic, some gothic, some romantic, but they all have a quality about them that's a class above my fun shop. In both shops, my staging for the themes are varied, but there still seems to be a thread of consistency, even among the most different items.

I don't like to be tied down by one or two themes. I create jewelry as something to occupy my hands, as a form of art therapy. It's a little above hobby and more into artistic expression than I originally intended back in October 2008. I'm still finding my footing as a jewelry artist, and I imagine it will be some years ahead before I find what really sets me apart from other people. Right now, I think it's more to do with my photo staging than the jewelry pieces themselves, although they are lovely and I want most of them for myself. :) In just a few months, I've played with any number of styles just within my new shop (I need to reacquaint myself with my other shop, but I haven't been inspired lately ... or at least I can't afford the inspiration). I began with destash bead lots and remnants from other projects, playing with color and simple design. I still like the simplicity of a beaded necklace, but now my tastes are running toward to the more intricate. If you check out the progression of jewelry pictures at my second shop, you'll see a noticeable change in supplies and artistic temperament. You may also notice that the photography has changed slightly.

I'm constantly growing, constantly changing. Fortunately, I've given myself two very open-ended Etsy stores to work with - they were created with the knowledge that I was probably not going to do just one thing. I want to do everything as it comes to me, skill set and finances willing. I anticipate honing those skills even more over the next few months in the areas of necklace design, steampunk, wire-wrapping, and hopefully some chainmaille. The worst part is the waiting to be able to afford the tools and components to begin. But I'm excited anyway.

Sunday Showcase (late)

2009-07-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Cephalopod necklace

I was sitting at work today and finally realized that it was Monday rather than Sunday, and I forgot to do a showcase.

I cannot solder or weld, and glue is messy and unreliable, so the only alternate sometimes for a good hold is wire-wrapping. Most of the time, like for most of my beaded necklaces and earrings, a simple closed curve is strong enough, since I use 18-20ga half hard wire. However, in the above case, when the tentacles were too wide for a simple closed curve, I have to defer to wire-wrapping.

It is not my favorite thing to do, and I don't always like how it turns out in other people's items, much less mine, although I know that other people like it just fine (so I usually leave it when I'm pleased enough). But in the few cases where I've wire-wrapped, I've taken the slightly eccentric route rather than the ordered one that I mostly prefer. For a plain solid hold, the wire usually goes around twice so that not too much attention is called to the wire - the bead should be the focus. In this case, the beads are the accents and the curve was so wide that more rounds were needed. And I was pleasantly surprised that the messier look worked with the eccentric feel of the piece.

Insectus Treasury

2009-07-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Visit this Arthropod and Arachnid "Insectus" Etsy Treasury for these beautiful many-legged creatures.

Blog Giveaway - Bubble gum waffle cone necklace

2009-07-09T18:41:00.001-07:00

It's the first official blog giveaway, and in this case, I'm giving away a very appropriate item to cool you off in this awful heat. Here's an opportunity to win a bubble gum waffle cone sundae necklace from my Sundae Everyday line! (alternative waffle cone available by request)

Here's what you do:

- Go to my fun and casual shop (www.magdalune.etsy.com) and pick out your favorite ice cream sundae item. Be sure to also let me know what your favorite ice cream in real life is, too. :) Include some way for me to contact you if you win.

- If you're on Twitter, Tweet "RT: Chance for a free bubble gum ice cream sundae necklace at http://theothermagdalene.blogspot.com/." Post here if you tweet and get an extra chance to win. Be sure to give me your twitter name.

Sign-ups end on July 25. On July 30, I'll put everyone's name in a hat and draw for the winner.

Tuesday Showcase: NighBluey

2009-07-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

I clicked on an ad on Craftopolis and was immediately hooked. NighBluey distinguishes herself among all the other jewelry artists on Etsy with her colorful hardware and glass and crystal, combining geometric shapes with eccentric glows and bead combos. And that's nothing on her excellent photography that captures light, shadow, and color in just the right way. It is a pleasure to feature her on this blog and show you some of the pieces in her shop.

Peachy Keen earrings

More Vertigo necklace

Alison earrings

Selected for Treasury

2009-07-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

My "hard to fake a blush" necklace was chosen for this lovely garden Etsy treasury!

Sunday Showcase

2009-07-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

My Etsy Shop

Happy Day-After-Independence Day!

I created the Summer Highlights series with summer, sun, and color in mind. I found beads from a supplier and fell absolutely in love with their boldness. The "Beach Ball Fun" necklace above is made with huge 22mm cherry tomato resin beads, perfect for summer picnics.

2012 Etsy Treasury

2009-07-02T16:08:00.001-07:00

I've been writing a lot about the subject of 2012 lately for a freelancing gig, so all the various prophecies and predictions were floating through my mind when I decided to make an apocalypse treasury.

You've got all sorts of possibilities here: nuclear winter, supernatural forces, Yellowstone caldera eruption, fire, solar maximums, extreme climate change...

Check out the the 2012 treasury!

Art Therapy

2009-07-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

"A Cordial Greeting" necklace - Bountiful Winepress

I don't know about you, but although I price my items as a business woman and I'm looking into more business practices, jewelry is primarily a hobby for me. I'm an anxious and fidgety person, with a number of destructive tics, so it's actually very relaxing for me to sit down during the evenings or weekends and make jewelry.

I compulsively search for new components and weed through all my favorites for sold and expired items or new listings from favorited sellers. I love looking through even irrelevant listings just to enjoy the colors, and sometimes I find surprising items that I wasn't looking for but now I just have to have. On any given day, I have 10-14 pages of primarily supply favorites.

It gives me a lift every time I see packages in the mail, even if there are only basic findings (shout out to my main findings suppliers, who I adore!). As my work days get progressively more stressful for me (for reasons I'd like to avoid talking about here), it's a real pleasure to come home to something beautiful. I see potential, and I start planning for my three-day weekend.

Then the weekend comes, and I sit down with all my jewelry components around me and a favorite television show marathon on the TV, and I think So what am I going to make today? Weekends when I can't do this are disappointing, although I sometimes make up for it with a spurt of writing creativity.

When I write, my mind is frenetic, moving from point to point, always thinking of new words. It's a creative rush, and I like it. But because it feeds off my anxiety, I enjoy relaxing with my jewelry. When I'm creating jewelry pieces, my mind shuts up. I'm extremely focused, and while I can sometimes become frustrated (wire-wrapping! not enough components! running out of head pins! what the hell kind of glue am I supposed to use!), when I get into a groove, especially the process of creating the above beaded necklace, for example, jewelry-making is one of the few things that can calm me down, as relaxed as a person like me can get. It may take a long time and a lot of money, and trying to sell jewelry on Etsy may be something of a thankless task, but the process of jewelry-making itself is the therapeutic part. In spite of anything, I can't imagine what I would do if I stopped.

Tuesday Showcase

2009-06-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

I would love to introduce you to PolishedTwo, a fellow Etsy Texas Crafter. I was turned onto her jewelry when looking for items for a Texas Treasury. For the last ten years, she has enjoyed making one-of-a-kind jewelry in her studio, wonderfully fresh items characterized with citrusy colors and glass tile components.

Chloe necklace

Volcano necklace

Fuschia earrings

New Purchase: Blueberry Cream

2009-06-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

I recently got a good deal on a pair of amazonite earrings wrapped in herringbone style. I tend to buy jewelry that I can't make myself or whose materials I can't find or am uninterested in finding. In this case, the wire-wrapping was beyond my still developing skills, and the price was more than reasonable. In my eyes, they're two little pieces of wire art. I'm incredibly pleased with the purchase.

Ms. Blueberry Cream has a number of other classic subdued jewelry pieces that you may be interested in. She is on vacation for a while, but you can still favorite her shop if her previous sales and her blog posts interest you.

Sunday Showcase

2009-06-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

I recently sold this pair to a coworker, so I made a pair to resell and decided to go ahead and make a pair for myself. I seriously love these beads - they embody everything I want for my "Honeyed" series. They look just like large drops of honey, and they practically glow in the light. I also made a necklace for myself and the shop months ago. If you have any custom ideas for these beads, let me know! I would be happy to further experiment with them.

A Clockwork Marriage

2009-06-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you what I've been obsessed with lately. It's a marriage between the natural and the technological. The Victorian and the alternate reality. The whimsical and the mechanical. It's breathtakingly beautiful. It's called steampunk.

The style combines floral, fantastic, or generally organically based with the technological beauty of watch movements. A Victorian aesthetic that can be melded with anachronisms. It's inspired by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, the fathers of the epic technological impossibilities imposing on the natural. There's something tremendously delicate about it - you work with watch gears, which are tiny and thin, or filigree. And jewelry itself needs a more delicate and precise touch, so that intrigues me even more. I've seen gears and metal replacing the abdomen of a real beetle - now that takes delicacy.

I'm not sure what drew me to it at first. I think it may have been Cherie Priest's love for it, and I just wanted to google it to see what the fuss was about. Maybe I saw the word one too many times and just had to find out what it was. Needless to say, I was hooked on the first image search. The jewelry is the best.

It inspired creativity that I knew I had but thought was gone. I've done some painting and pencil drawing in the past, and while I'd like to do that some more, I haven't really made time for it. But I suddenly had this desire to make steampunk jewelry based on some of the items I saw. And boy, do I have ideas.

I began by buying watch movements, although I can't buy the really good ones until I have a decent disposable income. I purchased lockets and other findings. Unfortunately, my limited disposable income also keeps me from moving at a pace I would like. I had to buy a little here, a little there, hoping that they'll work or that they'll sell. I will eventually want a precision drill, which at a price of over $150 seems way out of my price range - the alternative is a less precise hand drill. It's marvelously frustrating to me. I expect that the jewelry will eventually pay itself out, but you need capital in order to profit. Another life lesson I needed to learn, apparently. I know the value of money, but I've never had to have it before - all my hobbies were relatively cheap or I could deal with holiday gifts. Now I have to save, save, save in the middle of developing a fairly expensive hobby. Figures, huh? (I am, I would like to add, saving. I'm quite good at saving.)

On the plus side, my obsession with steampunk jewelry has sparked some other untapped ideas, too, not just in the steampunk area. I've had ideas for recycled/repurposed jewelry that will cost me very little because I can find the components in the trash. Of course, I'll still need the same kinds of tools, but I can work with that. It may even help supplement the more expensive steampunk components.

In the end, I've had to sell most of my watch movements and parts - there was no point in keeping them in a case for years when I was unable to do anything with them. I managed to make two minimalist steampunk pieces that sold pretty quickly, but they did not require much skill. I'd like to be able to do so much more before I dive into the steampunk aesthetic again myself. In the meantime, I've focused my old-fashioned tastes on my gothic romance pieces based on Dracula. However, other people's steampunk work has continued to fascinate me, and I still have ideas brewing in my head for the future.

If you're interested in checking out the steampunk jewelry-makers that inspired me, see the following links:
BirdzNbeez's store
Jewels By Nature's store
Clockwork Zero's store

A Sticky Situation

2009-06-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

My Fun, Casual Shop
My Soda Rose series

You don't know how much work goes into making jewelry creations until you experience its trials and tribulations yourself. I did, of course, anticipate some effort and experimentation in making roses out of soda cans. But I expected that effort in the realm of creating the shape of the rose itself, making each petal. I did not expect that glue would be my enemy.

I went to Michaels to look in their glue section for glue that worked with metal. Of all the glues that I saw, I chose Aleene's Jewelry and Metal Glue. Makes sense, right? And it worked great when I was putting petals together - it set fast and strong, which was ideal for gluing on a curved surface because I could not clamp it down like I might a cabochon. I had a few incidents when I glued my fingers, but that was to be expected, and I could always hide it by gluing on the next petals. So it was great glue to work with. Sounds like the end of the story. But that would be too easy.

The next day I noticed white, powdery residue on the aluminum, on the paint side and the plain side. Some of it looked like fingerprints. I just figured that the glue I had gotten on my fingers ended up getting all over everything, and I just had to be more careful. So I kept going, being more careful. But that didn't make a difference. After many hours, the powdery fingerprints would come back. I did a google search about what would get glue off of things, and I came up with rubbing alcohol and acetone. I started with rubbing alcohol, but that just made the fingerprints temporarily disappear because they were wet. They came back in seconds. Then I tried the acetone, and that made them disappear for a little while longer. But - you guessed it - the fingerprints came back (they wouldn't stay away, they were sitting on my flowers the very next day - name that song). Turns out that the evaporating fumes from the glue reacted with the oil on my hands - like a CSI episode! - in spite of the fact that the room I was in had adequate ventilation. Not at all practical for me to use for my soda flowers. I had to throw away about fifteen beautiful roses, including a few black roses with red accents that were just so perfect for a gothic necklace or something like that. Time to start over. At least I learned that my technique I came up with in my head to make the roses was a good one.

I searched Etsy forums for what other people used for metals, and the glue that came up over and over again was E6000. So I went back to Michaels and bought two glues: E6000 and hypo-cement. And I planned to use some of the Loctite glue that I had already bought a while back. I got home and I started using the E6000. It seemed to work well at first. Everyone talks about the smell, but I did not mind it at all for some reason. I let the experiments set for a few days, then went out and started pulling on the petals to make sure they had adhered properly, because E6000 seemed to be a little more flexible than I was used to. Unfortunately, the petals pulled off with enough force. I wanted a glue that would hold even when I pulled hard - after all, you want your products to be durable. Threw those experiments away, about five flowers.

So my next experiment was with the hypo-cement and the Loctite. The Loctite was a bust almost immediately because it set too slowly while also being too liquidy. Not a good combination. The hypo-cement was a bother because it was stringy like hot glue and kept getting over everything. But it set faster, so I had to at least try it. Two days later, I pulled on the petals. And they came off. By then, I was very frustrated and nearly had a meltdown in Michaels the next week when I bought super glue and could not find the kinds of beads that I wanted. It was just frustration building up over several weeks, even if it all seemed small.

Then imagine my frustration when I opened the super glue and found that the glue tube had broken inside the package and glued itself in. So I tried to return it at a different store than the one I bought it at, but they would not let me, and I did not want to drive all the way to the other store.

Now, this was the day after Halloween, and I was seriously down about everything. I went to the grocery store for some after-Halloween candy sales and a frozen pizza as comfort food. Then I remembered what a fellow aluminum can artist said about the glue that she used (it was a trade secret, so she did not tell me exactly what glue worked for her), that she found it at a drug store. On a whim, I went to the automotive aisle in the grocery store and picked up an instant liquid adhesive (that's my trade secret *wink*). I brought it home and did some more experimental roses. It seemed very much like the Aleene's in that it set fast and strong, and I was on tenterhooks for the three days I let it set.

Finally, I had my happy ending. The instant adhesive held on one side of the petal, so I just reapplied it on the other side and tested it later on. The petal held - no matter how hard I pulled, it stayed on.

It took over a month to find the right kind of glue, but now I have the right glue for my project, and I'm all content again. I have had a few mishaps gluing my fingers to the petals, and this one time I accidentally poured glue all down one of my fingers. Not good when the glue is skin-bonding. In getting it off, I had to peel off a tiny bit of healthy skin. Yeah. Eep. But in general, I have a good beginning amount of soda roses to work with.