Homefront Team Treasure y Hunt Challenge on Etsy

My favorite Etsy team, the Homefront Team, is having a Treasury Challenge.  This is a fun way to learn about how to tag items properly and how to choose an outstanding product photo.  There were some really nice items that I didn't include based on the thumbnail.  There were also some things I just couldn't find without getting creative with my search words, which is saying something, since most of my day consists of looking up stuff on the computer.  All of this has inspired me to take a closer look at my own listings to try and turn it up a notch.

It's one thing to think of a concept and try to find the right items.  It's another to have an item and try to think of someone else's concept.

Here's the link to my treasury challenge response, depicted below.  (You can see everyone else's responses here.)

All items must be from a Homefront team member. The items in the treasury must be represented by the following (you can use creativity here)

1. First comes love
2. Then comes marriage
3. Then comes baby in a baby carriage
4. Big/little siblings
5. Growing up
6. Starting school
7. Tweens
8. Teenagers
9. High School
10. College life
11. First apartment
12. Job interview

For kicks, I repeated the first 4 items in the last 4 spots.

Please visit our Etsy store for all kinds of upcycled accessories and jewelry, handcrafted in Hawaii!

Heart of Glass

I picked this nickel plated key chain up from Artbeads over a year ago. It's a nice key chain, but the post in the middle is so thick that none of the beads I had on hand actually fit. I don't remember where those Bali style spacer beads came from, but I think it was Oriental Trading Company. So anyway, I put the spacer beads on the key ring, and that was all I did with it for a long time.

I found the key ring while digging through my stuff, looking for potential destash listings. On a whim, I tried to fit one of my Indonesian recycled glass beads on there. Even THAT didn't quite make it onto the screw in post. Fortunately, in the past year, I finally invested in a bead reamer (it set me back a whopping $6). I don't know how I ever survived without a bead reamer.

What are the tools of the trade for your favorite hobby?  Have you acquired a tool, thinking it was just going to be a "nice to have," only to find it was a REALLY NICE to have?  If you had to rebuild your workshop from scratch, what are the first five tools you would buy?

 Please visit our Etsy store for all kinds of upcycled accessories and jewelry, handcrafted in Hawaii!

It's a Hawaii Thing

As you know, Artbeads sends me some items to review from time to time. The theme for this particular iteration is "Holiday Traditions." So rather than the standard Swarovski crystal wreaths, Christmas trees, and candy canes, I decided to go with a charm bracelet of foods my family eats during the holidays.  From left to right, we have mochi (we pound ours by hand), shaved ice, red fish, Maui gold pineapple, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of ozoni (mochi soup.)

Hawaiian Eats Charm Bracelet

I had to make the bowl of soup in a 10mm round sterling silver bezel (lined with a small piece of white mulberry paper), using a small button pearl for mochi, a green bugle bead for the vegetable garnish, and three of the tiniest Swarovski xillion flatbacks for carrots. Instead of mixing resin, I used Judykins Diamond Glaze to hold it down. Here's a close up of my improvised soup and a photo of the real thing:

Technically, the rice in the bowl shouldn't be perfectly round.  (That's the shape used to make food offerings to your deceased ancestors.)  Also, the kazari style mochi on the far left should have a tangerine on top (which is more of an oblong shape, not a round like an orange).  :)  But I made the rice bowl, pineapple, and mochi charms entirely out of supplies I had on hand.  The "carrot garnish," red fish, and shaved ice were made of items received from Artbeads as part of the product review.   (I also got some gift tins, which I originally intended for use with this project, but I changed my mind.  You'll see those later this week.)

In particular, I really liked the quality of the silver findings used for the shaved ice.  (I used a Bali silver bead cone and one Bali silver headpin.)  Nice and heavy, great worksmanship.  (Incidentally, the bead cone used to make the "bowl" is on sale this week for 15% off.)  Obviously, these items aren't to scale, but this was a ton of fun to make.

What kinds of foods remind you of family gatherings?  Do you have a specialty dish?

**Note: I received some of these products free of charge from Artbeads.com in exchange for an honest product review. I have not been paid for this endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

Please visit our Etsy store for all kinds of upcycled accessories and jewelry, handcrafted in Hawaii!

Keiki Dress Up Jewelry!

My little girl loves her bling. Actually, I think she's really more interested in pulling all my beads out.  I can't wait until she's older and I can set aside beads for her to actually string while I get some work done!  Beading is actually a great activity for little ones.  Did you know that many "gifted" children often lag behind their peers in fine motor skills?  (Not all do, but it's fairly common.)  It's also a great way to teach patterns, colors, counting, shapes, spatial perception, and creativity.

See?  Beading with the kids is EDUCATIONAL!!!!  Hah!  I am supermom!!!  (Just kidding!)

Meanwhile, I make pieces for her to play with so she doesn't wreck my more delicate designs.  Here are three sets of girls' dress up jewelry... all very easy to put on and take off, completely lead safe and all that jazz.  Made using the same materials and in the same styles as I make for my own little Princess... who is actually quite a tough little gal, so I used 20 lb test beading wire and a magnetic clasp on the necklace for added safety.

I am a total sucker for starfish.  It reminds me of the starfish story.  Even though I am not the most influential person, I try my best to make a difference where I can.

What stories or skills do you hope to pass on to the next generation? 




Please visit our Etsy store for all kinds of upcycled accessories and jewelry, handcrafted in Hawaii!

Another Blast from the Past- Macrame!

When I was a kid, I spent hours making friendship bracelets out of embroidery thread for all my friends.   I didn't like "macrame" because hemp was big and scratchy. (There was only one craft store in town so you either made do with what they had or made your own stuff from scratch.) Well, nowadays with the amazing advent of internet shopping, I discovered that hemp is now made in much smaller/finer sizes in all sorts of amazing colors... and in different textures as well.

This sucker took me about 90 minutes to make. I needed a bit of a refresher on knots, which I got from this tutorial on Rings N Things.  I then modified their instructions a little bit to get the spiral pattern, once I remembered what I was doing.  Just like riding a bicycle!

I guess you can't really tell, but it's two toned (sort of the difference between milk chocolate and dark chocolate).  I used some turquoise recycled glass beads from Indonesia for contrast, since turquoise and chocolate is a pretty popular color combo around here.

The fun part is that my 11yo son saw it and decided to make his own macrame bracelet.  (His his khaki and olive drab in the basic flat pattern given in the tutorial, no beads, because apparently, "Guys don't do beads, Mom!")   This kept him busy for the better part of an afternoon AND is something else we can do together... which, these days, is definitely a win for mom!

Did you make friendship bracelets or macrame bracelets for your friends when you were a kid?  Are you teaching your kids any of those crafts?  What other things do you do with your kids to keep them busy when you can't just send them outside?

Please visit our Etsy store for all kinds of upcycled accessories and jewelry, handcrafted in Hawaii!

Inspirational Focals

Note: this listing sold on Saturday and is on its way to its new home in Minnesota!

Today's featured listing is for SIX inspirational saying focal pieces.  These have two holes on either side and can accommodate double banded stretchy bracelets quite nicely.  I used to sell a lot of these at craft fairs, but to be honest, am not so into making stretchy bracelets anymore. 

The listing originally said five and the lead picture shows four, but I assure you, there are six of these babies!!!  Here they are:

When I bought these, they cost over $7 a set.   In case you were wondering.

I really like inspirational words or quotes... do you?  What's your favorite quote?

Quick & Easy Swarovski Rings

Here are some cute little rings I made for playing dress up with the little fashion princess. She's taking a nap at the moment, so you'll have to bear with Mommy's "stumpy man hands." (No wonder I can't play Rhapsody in Blue even with 10 years of piano lessons!)

So anyway, I made these rings using Swarovski Elements crystals and the Spring Lotus ring tutorial on Artbeads.  Instead of using 22 gauge wire listed in the tutorial, I used 21 gauge wire, which is ever so slightly thicker... but it's what I had on hand.  (No pun intended.)   In case you were wondering, 20 gauge won't work- trust me, I tried it.  But not to worry, this style of wire wrapped ring is quite commonly used and lasts for years if properly cared for.  And since these crystals have two holes, you can run the wire through twice... meaning they are securely fastened and won't roll up or down.

These are quite nice and actually, something a grown up would be able to wear for an evening out on the town.  I got these in a few other colors, and will be trying something a little different with those.

By the way, I received these products free of charge from Artbeads.com in exchange for an honest product review.   I have not been paid for this endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

Don't Quit Your Day Job!

The best career advice I ever got was given to me while I was in college.  Instead of worrying about which career assignments are considered the "best," or "career enhancing," to pick the job that you were most excited about taking... because it's easy to do well in a job that you love.

When I got to my first assignment, it was so overwhelmingly difficult.  I used to walk around trying to convince myself that I wasn't really worth more dead than alive, but from a purely financial standpoint I was actually worth more dead than alive.  Again, this advice found me, this time from my boss...

As it turns out, I really loved that assignment.  It was a tough adjustment but challenging and rewarding.  I looked forward to work and I worked hard.

And that is how I know it's time to move on from my current job.  It's something I do just to pay the bills and it barely does that much.  Actually, it doesn't really cover all the bills I would like to pay.  That's why I'm still in the Reserves.  It takes two jobs to cover the mortgage.  I'm tired.  There is no end in sight to increasing responsibilities and no extra authority or compensation.   I drag myself out of bed every morning and still can't get there on time... not that it matters.  The boss doesn't say anything because I put in my 8 hours and cover my job as well as two other vacant positions... and when I'm not doing that, I read.  I bead.  I research other things online such as grad school, LSAT preps, and recipes.

I know what I love, and it's not my job.  My job is work.  It's not getting me closer to where I want to be.  It's just work.

Do you get the impression that I'm burned out?  Are you happy with what you're doing now?  What's the hardest job you've ever loved?

An Etsy Treasury of My Own!

During the Pro Bowl, I decided to try my hand at actually making a treasury on Etsy.    It was a little tougher than I thought, which only emphasizes again, the need for good use of tags when listing items, and also using a good primary image that doesn't cut off part of the item in an odd way in the thumbprint.  Here's the link.

As you can tell, it's a Hawaii theme, since the Pro Bowl was out in Hawaii, and a little on the pricier side, since it's supposed to be payback for the wife who is fed up with being a football widow.  :)  The other thing I noticed is how heavily saturated the market is with beaded jewelry and how important it is to show some creativity and diversify.  I started sketching out some ideas (mostly to keep me awake in meetings at work), and am finally pricing supplies to get started.  I am also researching how to make some of my own components and findings so I can actually make the things I want to make the way I envisioned making them, instead of having to sort of improvise based on the things I could find commercially.   Should be fun!

How do you create?  Do you make it up as you go with the things you have on hand, or do you plan things out ahead of time and then look for the things you need?  Or both?

Flat Spiral Stitch Bracelets

Here are some pictures of bracelets I made a couple of years back using the flat spiral stitch. (You can google "flat spiral stitch bracelets" for tutorials. I am partial to a video tutorial done by Aunties Beads on You Tube, although I actually learned the stitch from a bracelet kit purchased on Artbeads.)

As you can see, there's a lot of variety... you can change up the sizes of the center beads, seed beads counts on the sides, or even hand stitch additional beads to embellish the bracelet.  This technique is pretty simple, although it does take some time to figure out the correct bead count when you change up the bead sizes.  Once you get going, it's a fairly simple process.

There's a great deal of variety in these bracelets... so far, because of the highly geometric pattern, I've only made these using man made components... if you search Flat Spiral on Etsy, you'll find much of the same...

But I am working out the bead count for using this technique using some natural components, not just machine cut beads!  So stay tuned!!!

Do you find yourself going back to old techniques with new angles every once in a while?  Or do you pretty much know what you like to use and focus on precision instead?