Thursday, January 21, 2010

To Tweet or Not To Tweet






Well my galore' jewelry lovers,



I am now officially tweeting. As of last week, I starting learning the "art" of the tweet. It seems simple enough, really it does. But, it's time consuming to say the least. As with anything else, you must (or i do, anyway)stay with it till you get it down. I'm still with it, til I get it down.
I went onto the etsy forum sites to find "help" with my problem. I had not sold anything from my 'etsy site ' since I started the dad gum thing. People were saying, "you might as well not be on there if your not going to sell anything; it just takes up time!" Well, they were right. It does take time. Drying your hair takes time too, but you got to do it if you want to look presentable.
So, the forum, "blogs of help" in etsy that I came up with..."What Am I Doin Wrong?"...triggered lots of answers and guidelines. So many people said to go to twitter and social network and market, market, market, anyway, I did. I opened a twitter account and off I went. First, I plugged in the "buzz" words like, "arts and crafts, sewing, cooking", and so on. I "followed" everyone I could get my mouse on and then people started following me. It was amazing. In a few short days, I had nearly 300 followers. Then, I started advertising and saying things like..."Turquoise...my drug of choice," then add a link to a bracelet or earrings or something like that. Well, the views in my etsy shop started doubling, then more views and so on, and so on.
The first week I was on twitter, I sold a pair of earrings! A couple of days later...I've sold a bracelet! No more showcases for me baby, they have been useless up to right now. I'm not giving them up completely...I'm just sayin! There's no sense in me buying a showcase that produces nothing. You advertise for sells, right?
So, in conclusion, tweeting has been extremely successful for me and I'm going to keep doing it! Grant it, it takes a lot of time on the computer, but time management is key. And if it works for me right now, then that's what I'm going to do right now. Later on down the road, I'll probably have to change to something else. Change is inevitable. But for now, twitter is my friend. This computer world is changing everyday, what comes next...we can only imagine.






lymi!



san



Saturday, January 16, 2010

Make Jump Rings

comming soon...

How To Make Simple Pendant Holder...

comming soon...videos!

How To Make Simple French Hooks










1. First, cut the wire to the length of your pointing finger. Just a simple measurement.






2. Then make a loop to start.












3. Then file the other end



















4. Then start the loop on the jig. Jig is facing you with nails up front. the first nail to the left, and loop around to the inside of the second nail on the right, and pull back slightly. I made this jig with just two nails and a center post. (i had bought this seed beed "thingy" to load your beads onto a needle. ) Never used it so...I added nails to it to make earwires and Now I use it! U can make a jig out of 2 x 4s or whatever. They have them online too at etsy. U can find ear wire patterns online too.






5. Then, hammer at the very top loop, just to temper, and your ear wire is made. It's that simple. you can play with the design once u get the basics down.






These are very simple to make.

I use 20 gauge half hard round. You can use this in sterling or copper or whatever u can find this temper in.







OK, go do it! God Bless!




san

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I'm torching in 2010!


Hey jewelry lovers,
Well, this year I'm learning a new skill. That's right, I'm getting torched! NO, not that way...I'm learning myself to your the torch and soldering some new items this year! I've been wanting to go in a new direction, for some fresh items...so God told me to get going. Get out of your slump and start a fresh new skill.

So, look out rainbow, no more laying around on mommy's desk. I'm afraid u might get hurt. Acetylene...here I come! I will still be cold forging items, look for a lot more sterling pieces too. Mixed metals will still be strong in the "metal collection" as well as lots of copper. I told you copper would be big!

Pics to follow...it will be awhile, but look for demo videos too!

LYMI!
san