Busy, Busy

In eight days I leave for the blogging conference, BlogHer. I will be meeting bloggers from all over the country. Bloggers who I read and "know". Bloggers who I read and admire. And bloggers who I have not yet discovered.

I am relatively new to the blogging game having only started But Why Mommy last May. Many (okay 99%) of the bloggers won't know who I am. I need/want to make a good impression.

In order to make said good impression, I am going to be very busy for the next few days. There are clothes and shoes to buy. Pedicures to be had. Business cards to order. But most importantly I want to make a good impression where it counts, here (and there). I also want to get my Etsy shop in good shape.

So over the next few days, I will be running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to make jewelry, post it here, get it in the store. I hope that you like what you see.

Business is Business

except when there is no busniess.

My poor Etsy shop. It has been langishing in a virtual wasteland for more than a year. I haven't had the time or energy to devote to it, so it just sits there untouched and unloved. And because I haven't visited it, no one else has visisted it either. So it's not much of a business. Its more of a placeholder, a placeholder with some pretty things.

But what if I did something novel, something unheard of (at least in these parts)? What if I began to use my store in the way it was intended. What if I actually listed things, pretty things? What if I took clear pictures of those pretty things? What if I cleaned up the store and filled it with the things that I love?

Would people visit? Would people love the pretty things the way that I love them? Would (fingers and toes crossed) people actually buy those pretty things?

Well there is only one way of finding out. I'm just going to have to do it and see what happens. The piece above is my first try.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway. Just click on the link in the side bar. The giveaway runs through June 26th.

Wednesdays Are For Sharing - Free Stuff

In honor of the relaunch of this site, I've decided to host a giveaway. I am going to be giving away this beautiful necklace crocheted with my own two hands:



So I am sure you want to know how you can win this beauty. Of course you do and here are the ways you can enter the drawing:

1. Follow me.

2. Follow me over at my other blog.

3. Tweet about it. (for example: @butwhymommy is having a giveaway over at Juniper and Coffee, check it out http://www.juniperandcoffee.blogspot.com)

4. Blog about it.

One entry for each of the above. And if you are really ambitious and do all of the above, I'll give you an extra entry. Its that simple. Just leave me a comment for each thing you do.

The contest will run through Tuesday June 30th at 11:59 p.m. central. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced here on Wednesday July 1st. (please note the deadline has been extended so share this with all of your friends for more chances to win).

A Vacation State of Mind

Every year our family goes on vacation to the same place. We have our things that we do, the places that we can't miss. It is a nice ritual.

One of my things is to visit this little bead store. Generally I ban myself from going to bead stores because I have a huge stash that I need to use up (one of the perks/drawbacks to having worked at a bead store). But I can't resist this little shop, so every year I go back.

But I find myself drawn to things I would never buy at home, more ethinic, more eclectic. I always bring my tools with me and make pieces with those bead right away. Sometimes I don't bring any jewelry with me, I just create my vacation accessories on the spot.

This year I found some vintage glass beads with a 40's feel to them in aqua and green. They made the perfect pair of earrings. I've worn them almost everyday since being home.



I also found a vintage Ethiopian pendant which I had to buy. We are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia and I thought I would help to pass the time if I had something from his birth country. I added some vintage beads and a leather cord to make a great necklace. Normally I would not use leather cord but it fit the piece and my vacation mindset.





I also wanted to let all of you know that the fabulous Christy from A Lil' Welsh Rarebit is having a giveaway. She is giving away a necklace, decals and some eco-friendly cleaning products. You should check it out.

Showing Some Love

Its been a while since I've posted here. Part of it was laziness and procrastination. Part was trying to decide where I want to take this blog. I'm still working out some things in my head but I figured I should still post from time to time until I can figure things out. So today I am showing this blog some love.

Love is actually the reason for this post. My husband and I recently celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. We have always exchanged the traditional gifts. While the traditional gifts of diamonds, gold and silver can be fun, we are't quite there yet.

The traditional gifts for the earlier years are a bit more interesting - paper, linen, leather, tin etc. For 11 it is steel. Steel kind of had me stumped. Should I buy some silverware? A new grill? A new car? Well no, money is a bit too tight for that.

Then it hit me, the hardware store has tons of steel stuff. I love the hardware store even though I'm not very handy. I just love all the tools and stuff. I've even used some hardware in my jewelry. So I decided to get some washers, nuts and bolts to make a pair of cufflinks for Bubs.

I experimented with a few things before hitting on the perfect design. I took two nuts, a few beads, some wire and toggles and came up with these beauties:




I was thrilled with the way they came out and Bubs loves them.

51, 52, 53, 54

Yes I did craft over the weekend, I just didn't blog. So here is a peek at what I did over the weekend:

Day 50 - WIP

Day 28 - Blossoming

When I first started selling my jewlery I made a lot of interesting pieces using twisted wire. I called them blossoms because they looked like abstract flowers. I loved making these pieces, every time I started one it turned out completely different than what I had in my head but still beautiful.

One of these pieces got me a mention in Women's Wear Daily (in a piece about Milwaukee boutiques). To date this is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me. It made me feel like a real designer. Some day I hope to reach those heights again.

I decided to use that blossom design as my logo for my business. I didn't possess the skills to do that myself, so I turned to a talented graphic artist on Etsy, Krystan to make some business cards for me. She came up with a really cool design using my blossom pieces as inspiration.

I've been thinking a lot about those necklaces and the design that Krystan came up with for me lately. I was wondering if it would still work. I don't really do those pieces any more. I have one in the shop, but I haven't been making them.

So I decided to play with the logo I already had. Could I make it work for me now? Today's piece is an ATC using the logo as inspiration. Its pretty close to the original but now I'm thinking of ways to expand and change it up for who I am now.

Day 27 - Balance

Lately I've been a little off kilter. I've been trying to find time in the day for all the things I need to do and all the things I want to do. Of course it doesn't help that I am not sleeping well and am exhausted. I would much rather sit on the couch and vege than actually do anything, which of course is the problem.

As I am wont to do in these types of situations, I make detailed plans in my head of how to get organized. I then don't follow the plans and wallow around in misery for a while. Eventually I get my act together and get stuff done. Until the next time I hit one of these patches.

But I'm thinking that maybe I do need a plan. I've got a lot of ideas on where I want this project to take me. I've been thinking about this for a while and am excited at the prospect. I just need to take the action to reach that next step. Maybe its just a list of goals, maybe its a mini-business plan but I need to get organized if I want to get where I think I can go.

If I can put this all into perspective, I think the energy I generate will help me get out of my funk. It will help me get my life back into balance which is exactly what I need.

The piece above is another of the Chinese inspired pieces. The pendant is a vintage crystal with a dragon etching and a lovely AB (aurora borieallis) finish which makes it change colors a bit in the light. I hope to finish it soon.

Day 26 - Xin Nian Kuai Le

Over the weekend we went to a Chinese New Year party put on by Bunny's Chinese school. After stuffing myself with (about 6 too many) dumplings and watching the dragon dance, I found myself in a bit of a nostalgic mood.

While we were waiting for Bunny's referral from China, I started making all sorts of Chinese themed jewelry. I collected old (and new) coins, character pendants and anything with a dragon. I incorporated a lot of these items into my work.

The trip to China only strengthened that creative bent. One of our stops was the Pearl Market in Guangzhou. The Pearl Market is the size of a large shopping center and each store is a gem merchant. You can buy pearls, jade and any semi-precious stone you can imagine. Needless to say I was in heaven.

Part of the profits from any item I made and sold from the stones I bought in China or from the Chinese themed pieced I had collected earlier went to the Half the Sky Foundation which works to better the conditions for children living in Chinese orphanages.

But as these things go, once I became a mom, life got in the way and I stopped making jewelry for a while. Everything went into storage and rarely saw the light of day. But this weekend's events got me thinking about making this type of jewelry again. So I rooted around in my stash, found some pretties and got to work.

The coin is a replica of an old Chinese coin and the red disc is porcelain (from China). I hope to have this piece listed in the shop tomorrow with 50% of the proceeds going to Half the Sky.

Day 21 - New Jewelry Up

I've been making jewelry for the past few days and thought it was time to finally add a few to my shop.

The first are a pair of earrings I made on Monday. I've made these before and have always loved the way they look. The flower stone is a ruby jade and the leaves are vintage glass.




Second I added some earrings I made yesterday. They are labordorite drops with small loops made of labordorite. I love how the twisted wire effect that makes the loops look like small leaves or petals.

I hope to be adding some more pieces to the shop in the coming days.

Day 20 - Possible Listing?

After I made those earrings over the weekend, I got back into the groove. Making jewlery just seemed right again. I made a few more earrings yesterday. I also made a necklace.

I'm not going to put any pictures up today because I think I'm going to list them in my shop tomorrow. So stay tuned.

Day 19 - Back to Basics

Sometimes life gets a little crazy. You would rather spend your free time napping or zoning out in front of the TV than doing anything of substance.

I could have done this or I could have done that but I just couldn't bring myself to make the effort. I wanted ease and simplicity yesterday. Something that I could do without thinking but something that would yeild a beautiful result.

Yesterday I walked into my craft room and looked at everything I had there. The unused sewing machine, the paints, the canvas, the yarn none of it was appealing to me. I opened a box of beads and just knew what to do. So I decided to go back to basics, back to jewelry.

The easiest piece of jewlery for me to make is earrings. I can make a pair in 10 minutes. I can't tell you the number of times I've been getting ready to go out and thought I need some new earrings to go with this outfit. So I pull out my supplies and make a pair as easy as that.

I found some pretty beads, grabbed some wire and my tools and went to town. I first hung both beads from the same earwire. The effect was pretty but it was heavier than I was looking for so I separated them. Instead I got two pairs that I can wear anytime and I like that.

Day 8 - All Wired Up

When it comes to crafting, I am basically self taught. Its not that I am opposed to taking classes, I just don't want to waste my time. I would rather play around with things trying to figure out how to make it work the way that I want, than have someone tell me I'm doing it wrong. So if someone asks me how to make a wrapped loop or some other jewelry technique, I could tell them how I do it but it wouldn't necessarily be textbook correct.

I guess I'm just independent that way. Or maybe just stupid. Whatever it is, it just works for me.

A several years ago I was in New York visting my friend. At one store I saw a ring made out of knit or crocheted wire. It looked so delicate and intricate. I wanted it. But it cost $100 so that was not going to happen. So I said I'll just make one myself.

I didn't really think much of it again for a few years until I saw another piece of crocheted jewelry. Finally I decided I had to make one for myself. The only problem is I didn't know how to crochet at all. So I bought a teach yourself crochet book and taught myself. A few scarves later I figured I was ready to move on to wire.

Once I tried it, I was hooked (groan). You can create really cool things with normal hooks. Or you can by the teeny tiny hooks and create more delicate designs. I've been playing around with this for a while but haven't added much to my storebecause I haven't figured out how to photograph them to show off the intracacies of the design. (Its part user error and part wrong camera for the job.)

These are two works in progress. The chain will most likely be made into a necklace with the circles going all the way around. The other will most likely be a pendant.

Day 6 - ConFLUsion

So apparently yesterday in my fluish state I forgot how I set up this blog. I craft one day and post about it the following day. I did it like this because there will be the inevitable crazy day where I won't have time to pick up anything until the evening. And because I am an early bird I wouldn't have the energy to blog.

So for the first 4 days it worked properly. Craft then blog the next day. Yesterday I blogged about my pathetic attempt to crochet a row whilst lying on my couch that very same day. By doing so I completely skipped what I did on Sunday, there by messing everything up. So now my day 6 post is really going to be about day 5 (or day 4, I don't know) crafting which is just making me all confuzzled. I'm not even sure I understand what is going on anymore.

Oh yeah right, I did actually craft on Sunday. I've been playing around with paper jewelry. Making little pendants out of magazine images and the like. I have a few in my shop. But I was never satisfied with how I was coating them so a lot when unfinished.

On a recent trip to the craft store I picked up some new protective coatings to try out with mixed results. In fact some of the pendants were ruined, like the bird and the small flower. I had this idea in mind but I wasn't sure how to achieve it. So I turned to the experts on Etsy, the mixed media artists and they gave me some good advice, Diamond Glaze. So now I am on a search for it.