Quick trip

Steve and I took a quick trip to Delaware this week. I got to visit with Connie at Sparkles Bead Shop a little this morning, which was so precious. Olivia's sweet little face was even posted on the bulletin board!

I really do miss teaching classes at the shop, and I miss the students and hearing what's new in their lives and seeing what they make with the techniques they learned in class. Not to mention it got me out of the house.

I work from home and when Steve travels for work I get really starved for conversation. Fortunately my friend Lauren has been helping me out lately, which in turn makes me a lot more productive. (The Laptop Lid Closing plan didn't stick.) If Lauren is at the computer listing items on Etsy, then I'm relegated to the workbench to work on my fall collection.


Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you'd like to see, jewelry or tutorials. I appreciate the human contact!

Beaded Branches

I have been offering a tutorial on how to make a Beaded Branches Pin. It included brief bonus instructions on how to transfer those skills to make a necklace. Now I have posted the full Beaded Branches Necklace tutorial complete with step-by-step instructions and lots of pictures. This is a great technique for weddings, whether you're just going as a guest or you're making "something new" for the bride to wear on her big day.

Eclectic Mix

Today my lime green sea glass pendant is featured in a treasury. Bottom row, center:























I am slowly adding some new pieces to my Etsy shop, including some bead strands. I also listed my PMC lentil necklace on my website in case you have been secretly wanting that!

Tangles and knots

My silver tangle necklace is featured in a treasury on Etsy today! Third down on the left.

New products, lower prices!

As previously mentioned, I've had a Puffy Heart Addendum in the works, as well as one for the Princess Pillow tutorial, which show you how to make gradient patterns for these pendants.

They are newly listed with my other jewelry tutorials and kits, many of whom have LOWER PRICES! I just switched download servers which saves me money and I'm passing the savings on to my customers. This also uses one shopping cart for both tangible and downloadable goods, so you no longer have to check out twice if you want to order say, the Viking Weave tutorial and the tools that go with it.

AND until I have a chance to do the coding to apply the usual $3 shipping charge to tangibles and not to downloads, I'm offering free shipping on all items on the AnneMade Jewelry website. Go nuts!

Striving for Quality

In January Steve and I went to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in Chantilly. I wasn't scouting it out as much as I was looking for something for us to do with a newborn baby. But being surrounded by so many craftsmen wound up being pretty inspiring (not that I had time to make jewelry back in January, but I thought about it a lot). I even bought earrings and a bracelet from an artist I've known about for a while. (Thanks, Rosanne!)

So why would I do that? Can't I make jewelry myself? Sure, well, given the time and inclination I could probably make something similar, but one of the things I like to do is surround myself with quality pieces so hopefully I will reflect that in my own work. Strong construction, easy closure, substantial weight, etc. My friend who decorates houses made the suggestion to "study quality" years ago; when you're accustomed to good-quality furnishings it's easier to spot the chintzy stuff. Of course sometimes I struggle because the bargain hunter in me sees a deal, but at least I can tell the difference.

Dodecahedron Tutorial

Got a new one for ya! A dodecahedron is a 12-sided polygon, and this beaded bead is created by crossweaving monofilament (read: uses fishing line instead of a needle), much like the Puffy Heart and Princess Pillow. Click here for the tutorial listing, click here for the earrings.

Rainbow heart

The baby is napping well and Mother's Day is out of the way, so I'm trying to get to some things I've had on the back burner like writing new tutorials. Here's a sneak peek at a new twist that a customer asked me to figure out -- a rainbow Puffy Heart. I'm also working on a color-gradient addendum for this and the Princess Pillow tutorials.

New

It's spring, which means the trees are blooming and our little town grows like tenfold during the Apple Blossom Festival (aka The Bloom). As my husband puts it, it's an interesting mix of rednecks and rich people, and everyone wears pink and green. I made a "Bloom" Line to sell at the shop downtown, hoping to list the remnants on Etsy, but it doesn't look like there will be much left. I figured you guys might be starved for new pictures to look at while you're procrastinating at work on lunch break, so I'll post some anyway...

Mother's Day is right around the corner, so I've been a busy bee making stamped pendants for gift-giving. Oh, and that little full-time job of being a mom. But, I've also started getting orders for graduation gifts.

This set is for a French IV class, the first group of kids this young teacher has had through the whole set of French classes. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day the teacher had the students write in their journals about their thoughts as they face graduation and life beyond. The title of the journal entry was to be Mon rêve, which means 'my dream', so the teacher had me stamp sterling tags with this phrase -- pendants for the girls and keychains for the guys. Hopefully the students will remember both their dreams and their beloved teacher.