Sparkly Bedazzling Crystals

For many years I have been designing jewelry, and often include a bit of sparkle in the design because I think it perks up the jewelry and adds a bit of drama. Do you ever use Chinese crystals when you make jewelry?   For most of my pieces of jewelry, I used Swarovski crystals.  However, recently I have seen a vast improvement in the quality of Chinese crystals.

Swarovski crystals are known to be just about the finest crystal to use in jewelry. The crystals are leaded glass that are precision cut. The facets of these crystals catch the light and sparkle with a gorgeous fire.

I continue to use Swarovski crystals in my fine quality jewelry usually in conjunction with sterling silver and other fine gemstones and pearls.  This necklace features Swarovski crystals.

But what about Chinese crystals?  Are they inferior and unacceptable to use in our beaded creations.  I say resoundingly that they are wonderful to use in our jewelry.  Due to the improvement in quality and the affordable price, I use them frequently, and the sparkle is bedazzling.

The green and yellow Chinese crystals in this strand add lovely sparkle.  The blue Chinese crystals are a little softer, not so much sparkle.

Fabulous rich red Chinese crystals add beauty to this Dragonfly Necklace.

There are many lovely strands of Chinese crystals available for purchase on Etsy.  I created a treasury with some of those crystals on it.  Please leave your comments below.  Do you prefer to use Swarovski crystals or Chinese crystals?

Does What You Learn Lead You to Take Action?

Don't let your learning lead to knowledge,

let your learning lead to action.

                                      Jim Rohn

We have so many opportunities to gain knowledge and to learn from others around the globe in this computer internet cyberspace age.  I don't know about you, but I can spend hours surfing the web reading about all kinds of things ... health information, financial information, marketing on the web, decorating, how to articles, etc.   My mind gets overloaded with all this information.  I can spend hours doing this in the evening, and then, I'm tired and I go to bed.

But ---what am I doing with all this information?  I find I have multitudes of ideas for action, but very few of them come to fruition.

When it comes to my jewelry business, I decided I need to take one of my ideas, test it, market it, and see it through.  I seem to jump around a lot.  I may decide to work on improving my photos, so will take some photos again to post online for the items in my shop.  Then I may read a good article on keywords and off I go rewriting my titles and descriptions of products. Meanwhile my blog gets forgotten for weeks.

Blinders on

Really, I believe I need to put on blinders to prevent me from being distracted by all the data and information coming at me through cyberspace,  totally focus on a plan of ACTION, and see it through.  The plan can be multifaceted, but should have clear goals and milestones.

I am trying to do this by marketing to a niche of  career women who need to wear id badges to work each day.  I am focusing on  making beaded lanyards and selling them.  I set up a new shop on Artfire, LeAllyson's Lanyards and I also sell them at my Plumbeadacious shop on Etsy.  I am beginning to have some success with these.  Here is one I sold just this last week.

Gold Chain Lanyard with Lampwork Focal Bead

How do you deal with the massive amounts of information or knowledge that you take in each day?  How do you put your learning into ACTION?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.

                                         James 1:22  NIV

Mistakes Can Be Your Friend

"The man who makes no mistakes does not normally make anything."

   - Edward John Phelps - January 24,1899

Oh gee! How many mistakes have I made?  Countless mistakes.

One of the biggest deterrents to taking up a new hobby or activity is the fear of failure.  Years ago I thought I had no artistic ability.  Why did I think that?

My father could draw very well.  He had been a commercial artist for awhile when he was a young man.  When I  was a child, he would entertain me by taking a blank piece of paper and with a pencil, he would quickly sketch a picture of a puppy or Mickey Mouse or any number of delightful pictures.

This was wonderful. Unfortunately, when I picked up a pencil to try to do the same thing, I was slow, clumsy, and really not very good.  I gave up and decided I had "no talent".

It was many years later that I started painting.  I learned that it takes practice and patience.  I really think that "talent" plays the least important part.

Early attempt at jewelery and photographing it

I don't paint much now, but I started creating jewelry about 7 years ago.  Again my first inclination was that beading wire and working with pliers, crimpers, and cutters was definitely not my cup of tea.  Yet I was drawn to the beautiful beads and the endless possibilities to create unique jewelry.  Once again I found that practice and persistence paid off.  Now I am not so clumsy when I wrap the wire or attach a clasp.  It is fun to do these things, and it brings me hours of enjoyment.

More recent piece I made and photographed

Did I goof and make mistakes to start with?  Absolutely!  Many many mistakes. I had to cut wire off the piece and throw lots of it away, and then start again.

Do I still make mistakes?  - Oh, YES! Not as many, and not the same ones, but every time I try something new, I go through a learning curve and make new mistakes.

Never fear making mistakes!  It is part of the path to success!

Have you had similar experiences with learning from mistakes?  We would love to hear your story. Comment below. 

"Though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand."

                                                                              Psalm 37:24 -NIV

Stylin' As We Work

As school is started and vacations are over, we all start thinking about supplies and needs to make our everyday work a bit easier and more convenient. Many of us, including myself, are required to wear or carry an ID badge to work or school. These have absolutely no style or fashion sense at all, and are a necessary item in today's world. Many crafters make beaded ID badge holders to wear around the neck as a fashion accessory. They are called lanyards, and some are remarkably beautiful.

I tried my hand at making a few of these and will be selling them at my Plum Beadacious shop on Etsy. They are comfortable to wear, and add a touch of fun to every day attire. I made mine without magnetic break away clasps. I did this because whenever I wear a piece of jewelry with a magnetic clasp, I am constantly watching to make sure it has not fallen off. I have had problems with that, and so don't want to be losing my ID badge because of this. However, I do know that for safety reasons, many schools and employers require break away lanyards. So I will do them if customers would like me to. I plan to go ahead and make some with break away clasps so that customers have a choice.


I would love to hear your comments about these. Do you wear an ID badge? Would you wear a beaded one? Would you need a break away clasp? Please let me know.

Have You Declared Your Independence?

If you are like most women, you probably feel driven by all the tasks and obligations of each day. I know I have certainly felt that way and behaved accordingly.

Did you know if you just step off that treadmill for awhile, and take time to reassess your priorities, the whole world will not fall apart? I know it is hard to do. I have had to do that, not just once, but on multiple occasions.

I recognized that much of what I felt enslaved to was of my own making. I can be my own taskmaster and worst enemy. But I finally realized that if I skipped some of the chores or responsibilities, no-one would be upset or burdened by it. Of course, I am not talking about all of your chores and responsibilities. Choose carefully!

That gave me a whole new perspective on my life and allowed me to start pursuing my own interests. VOILA! My little jewelry business emerged, and is beginning to blossom. Plum Beadacious is a by-product of my new found freedom.

So declare your independence! Open your heart and mind to your creativity! Celebrate you and the freedom God has given to you! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY - JULY 4, 2008

Results of some of my happy creative moments:

This necklace is one of my all-time favorite. I've made several of these. I have one more of these lampwork beads, and promised myself to make this necklace one more time for me. I really like this style of necklace. With beautiful lampwork beads, this style is one of my best sellers.

Some of my newest creations in my Cottage Garden collection.

Tax Time ~ My Head Hurts

This is my first year to file income tax on my business, Plum Beadacious. My tiny business that provides so much enjoyment has become quite the headache for my husband and me. Thank goodness my husband used to work for H&R Block part time several years ago. He is quite good at doing our taxes with the help of Turbo Tax sofware.

However, he can't do the work without the figures. I have learned the hard way to become much better at keeping meticulous records when I buy my beads and findings, pay my Etsy, eBay and other website fees, and when I sell my jewelry both online and at craft shows. I have all that information, but in all kinds of different places. I gathered the data (over the last few weeks), and gave it to my husband to put into schedule C on our taxes. Whew, what a job!

Now, I started an inventory spreadsheet in Excel for all my purchases and created the formulas to decriment beads as I use them. If I am faithful in using this, my inventory of beads should be all ready on January 1, 2009.

Beaders - Do you have any hints to share on tracking everything for tax day?

I must say that the discipline of pulling all this together has certainly opened my eyes to some of my poor business practices. I surely have not been wise in my purchasing and my pricing. Pricing is another difficult process. I am not going to think about that yet tonight. Figuring out the tax was enough math for one day.

By the way, Etsy has some Storque articles on taxes and on inventory. One is Tax Time Considerations for the Independent. Another is Etsy Seller Inventory Worksheet.

Snowy Tuesday

We are just not used to all this snow in St. Louis. The last 5 winters or so were very mild. Today is what I would call a blizzard. I had to drive in it because my husband was scheduled for a test at the hospital. All went well, but I am ready for spring. Here is a picture of the snow on our deck rail today.


Thankfully, I am home now and can think about and work on my spring jewelry. Here is one of my newest designs for spring. I am making lots of earrings for my new Cottage Garden collection. These are made from acrylic iris beads, sweet glass pearls, tiny seed beads, and antique brass earwires. Bring on the sunny days!

I haven't had time to post lately. My day job has taken up much more of my time lately. Finally I completed some new pieces to sell for Valentine's day. I always enjoy creating jewelry for Valentine's day. See my newest collection at my website Plum Beadacious! I am particularly pleased with this one.

Fashion Trend Purple

After I wrote on Wednesday about the color purple, I could hardly believe it when I looked at the lifestyle section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning and saw on the cover of that section that all shades of purple are the new fashion and home decorating colors. I guess I am now riding the wave. HOORAY!

So in honor of Valentine's day which is fast approaching, take a look at my purple heart earrings.

Lavender Sparkle

I like the color purple and its many variations. Have you ever noticed how some people kind of giggle or snicker when you say you like purple? I am not sure why. I think the color has gotten a bad rap. I painted a bedroom a beautiful shade of violet several years ago, and I still like it. (I should say my husband painted the bedroom. I just did a tiny amount of trim.) I have a plum colored shirt, a lavendar sweater, a periwinkle jacket, and a deep purple sweatsuit.

My newest purple treasure is this bracelet and earrings set. I call it 'Lavendar Sparkle'. I made this with Czech glass cathedral beads and bright silver filigree tube beads. Then on the end of the extender chain there is a tanzanite Swaroski crystal. There is not a bit of sterling silver in this set, and I think that is just fine. It is a fun item to be worn whenever the whim hits.