Top 10 List, Week Ending 12/17/16

Without further ado....

1. SILVER
2. FLOWER
3. POLYMER (TIED FOR 3RD)
4. STERLING (TIED FOR 3RD)
5. WHITE (TIED FOR 3RD)
6. BLUE (TIED FOR 3RD)
7. UNIQUE (TIED FOR 7TH)
8. GOLD (TIED FOR 7TH)
9. MALECITE (TIED FOR 7TH)
10. WIRE (TIED FOR 7TH)

... and the weirdest word that I did not include was BOOK.

Now go be inspired to make some UNIQUE!

Top 10 List, Week Ending 12/10/16

Ok, I don't know if anyone noticed or not, but it occurred to me today that I totally forgot to do the Top 10 list yesterday.  So, better late than never I guess, here it is:

1. SILVER
2. BLUE
3. CHARM
4. PEARL (TIED FOR 4TH)
5. GREEN (TIED FOR 4TH)
6. GLASS (TIED FOR 4TH)
7. TURQUOISE (TIED FOR 4TH)
8. GOLD (TIED FOR 4TH)
9. FLOWER (TIED FOR 9TH)
10. WHITE (TIED FOR 9TH)
11. BLACK (TIED FOR 9TH)
12. FROG (TIED FOR 9TH)

Noticeably absent this week is "STERLING" which came in at #13.  The weirdest word that I didn't include was "FOOTBALL", which was tied for 4th with all the others.

Now go make some awesome jewelry!

Disclaimer:  My sample involves tweets pertaining to handmade necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings.  So if your jewelry does not fit in to one of those categories, it is not included.

Top 10 List, Week Ending 12/3/16

Drum roll please.......

1. SILVER
2. GIFT
3. PEARL
4. GOLD  (TIED FOR 4TH)
5. LEATHER  (TIED FOR 4TH)
6. STERLING  (TIED FOR 6TH)
7. MOSAIC  (TIED FOR 6TH)
8. COFFEE (TIED FOR 8TH)
9. COPPER (TIED FOR 8TH)
10. JADE (TIED FOR 8TH)
11. GREEN (TIED FOR 8TH)
12. BOHO (TIED FOR 8TH)
13. GLASS (TIED FOR 8TH)

Apparently everyone was busy celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday, because there were a lot less tweets, which could be the cause of so many ties.  Bonus:  The weirdest word I came across (in relation to handmade jewelry) was "SOAP", which makes me wonder if the word "coffee" was referring to a color, or to the beverage!

Now go make something!

Top 10 List, Week Ending 11/26/16

Things were so hectic today after traveling out of town for Thanksgiving and getting back late last night, I almost forgot to do the top 10!  Anyway, I remembered just in time (before midnight!)  Here it is:

1. SILVER
2. GEM/GEMSTONE
3. STERLING
4. BLUE
5. NATURAL
6. GLASS
7. FLOWER
8. PINK
9. HEART
10. PEARL

BONUS:  #11 is a tie between CHARM and FROG!  And the weird word that I didn't include was EYE.

Now go make some handmade jewelry!

Top 10 List, Week Ending 11/18/16

Here we go:

1. SILVER
2. GOLD
3. STERLING
4. GLASS
5. BLUE
6. TIED:  ROSE AND CRYSTAL
7. GEM
8. GREEN
9. FLOWER 
10. BLACK

Hope that gives you some inspiration for the week.  

Here's a bonus, maybe I'll do it every week if I have material.  The weirdest word. that I didn't include because I'm not sure it had anything to do with jewelry, was TEA.  Go figure.  Tea bag earrings perhaps?

Next week, instead of ending with Friday, I'm going to end with Saturday.  I have noticed that a lot of handmade jewelry tweets seem to go out on Saturday, so that should make the list slightly more current.

Top 10 List, Week Ending 11/11/16

Drum roll please.....

1. SILVER
2. GLASS
3. BLUE 
4. WHITE
5. MURANO
6. STERLING
7. PEARL
8. FLOWER
9. GOLD
10. GEMSTONE

Now go make some handmade jewelry!

Top 10 List, Week Ending 11/4/16

There were a lot of tweets this week.  Drum roll please......

1. SILVER
2. STERLING
3. GOLD
4. GIFT
5. BLUE
6. PEARL
7. GLASS
8. WHITE
9. PINK
10. ROSE-TURQUOISE-CRYSTAL (3 WAY TIE)

NOW GO BE INSPIRED!

Top 10 List, Week Ending 10/28/16

Here we go:

1. SILVER
2. STERLING
3. GOLD
4. BEAD
5. BLUE
6. FLOWER 
7. COPPER 
8. PEARL
9. MARBLE
10. SENSITIVE

Be inspired!

Top 10 List, Week Ending 10/21/16

Following are the top ten terms used on twitter for last week:

1. SILVER
2. GLASS
3. STERLING
4. BLUE
5. CHARM
6. CHRISTMAS
7. PINK
8. MURANO
9. PURPLE
10. HEART

Hope this gives you some inspiration!

Top 10 List, Week Ending 10/14/16

 Here are the top terms for last week:

1. SILVER
2. BLUE
3. GOLD
4. FLOWER
5. BEAD
6. GIFT
7. GLASS
8. PHOTOGRAPHY
9. WHITE
10. CRYSTAL

Be inspired!

Top 10, Week Ending 10/7/16

Here we go:

1. SILVER
2. BEAD
3. GOLD
4. GLASS
5. FLOWER
6. GIFT
7. FASHION
8. CRAFTY
9. CHARM
10. COPPER

Hope that gives your some inspiration!  Have fun!

Top 10, Week Ending 9/30/16

Here we go:

1. SILVER
2. ART
3. PHOTOGRAPHY
4. STERLING
5. GOLD
6. BLUE
7. GIFT
8. BEAD
9. PINK
10. BLACK

Hope this inspires you to make some new jewelry!

Top 10, Week Ending 9/23/16

I have to preface this by saying that there seemed to be a lot less tweets this week.  Maybe something was going on elsewhere.  That gave me less data, so it is more likely that something could skew these results.  With that said, here they are:

1. SILVER
2. STEAMPUNK
3. GLASS
4. LEATHER
5. AGATE
6. GREEN
7. HIPPY
8. COPPER
9. HEART
10. BANGLE

Hope this inspires you to make something creative!

Top 10, Week Ending 9/16/16

Oops!  I got distracted yesterday and forgot to post this.  Sorry about that.  Anyway, here it is:

1. SILVER
2. ART
3. PINK
4. BLUE
5. BEAD
6. GOLD
7. GLASS
8. PHOTOGRAPHY
9. WHITE
10. FLOWER

Now go make some inspired jewelry!

Top Ten WE 8/12/2016

1. Silver (including Sterling)
2. Earring
3. Pearl
4. Necklace
5. Bracelet
6. Ring (including Wedding Band)
7. Gold (including 14K)
8. Wedding
9. Turquoise
10. White

This is not scientific by any standard!  These are compiled from tweets having to do with handmade and vintage jewelry.  Handmade is weighted much more than vintage.

I'm thinking maybe next week I will leave out earring, bracelet, necklace and ring because they are always in there. Leaving them out may give us some more useful information.  What do you think?

Weekly Jewelry Trends 7/29/16

Today I am going to try something new.  I have picked (according to my calculations) the top ten trends this week for handmade and vintage jewelry on Twitter.  These are based on tweets.  We'll have to wait and see if this is successful, or if I come up with the same thing each week.  Success would be not coming up with the same ten items each week!

Anyway, drum roll please.....    Here they are:

• Bracelet
• Pearl
• Blue
• Necklace
• Sterling Silver
• Gold
• Agate
• Jasper
• Gift Ideas
• Gemstone

These are not necessarily in exact order, although the ones at the top were definitely mentioned more than the ones at the bottom.  It's not an exact science.

I hope these give all the jewelry makers out there some inspiration for the week ahead!  Next week maybe I'll even have a graphic!

A Clasp To Hold It

One  of the great things about handmade jewelry is how an artist can give a unique twist to certain components of a piece.  Often that is a clasp.  There are many different kinds of clasps, and when it comes to handmade jewelry, you can find some interesting twists (both literally and figuratively.)

Clasps are sort of the "unsung heroes" of a piece of jewelry, because, after all, they do the work of holding the piece together!   I decided to go looking through the Artfire shops of the Jewelry Creators United in Numbers (JCUIN) guild and see if I could find some clasp inspiration.  

Spring loaded clasp, handmade by Boho Wire Wrapped

Toggle clasp by Lunar Skies

The idea came to me earlier today when I happened across this incredible clasp.  Sadly, Margaret of Boho Wire Wrapped is no longer with us, but this clasp shows just a bit of her amazing wire-wrapping skills.  Her family is keeping the shop open to sell what remains of her wonderful wire-wrapped treasures.





The toggle clasp is very common in handmade jewelry.  Most of them are purchased.  What makes this one special is that it looks slightly different and I'm pretty sure that Quentin of Lunar Skies made this one himself.  

Button clasp, bracelet by Pink Sunset Jewelry Designs

While this clasp is not handmade, it is a nice adaptation, and a way to recycle an odd, lone button.  This bracelet, by Pink Sunset Jewelry Designs, is a great example of a button clasp.  These are especially popular in wrap around bracelets like this one.

Sprial clasp by Meant 2B Cherished (M2BC)

Here is an example of one of the many spiral type clasps that wire wrappers love to do.  These clasps are simple, elegant, and unique because each one is made by hand.  This necklace is by M2BC (Meant 2B Cherished).  Finding this was a pleasant surprise, because it is a departure from her usual fused glass pendants (which are also pleasant to be sure!)

Hook and eye clasp by Wagoner Wire Works

Now we've all seen hook and eye clasps, they're fairly common.  Some are handmade and some are store bought, mass-produced.  This one, by Wagoner Wire Works, is handmade.  It is also unique in that the eye part has a sort twisted and hammered look to it.

Sterling leaf toggle clasp by Shanghai Tai

There are many variations on the basic toggle clasp, including geometric designs, flowers, leaves and animals.  Most are cast and store bought.  Here is a handmade toggle clasp from Shanghai Tai with an oak leaf motif.






Thank you to the members of the JCUIN guild on Artfire for providing the inspiration for this blog.  I know looking at clasps inspires me to be more creative with mine.  So I hope next time you are looking at a piece of jewelry, you will notice the unsung hero, the clasp.

Jewelry Photos for Collections

It's true, I am not a professional photographer.  The impetus for this post is the fact that I do collections on Artfire.  They are a great way to promote your work, because the people featured in the collection will promote the collection on social media.  If your collection is good, you may be lucky enough to see it on the front page of Artfire, or in the Artfire daily email.  The same can be said for Etsy treasuries.  Sometimes I see an item that I would really love to include in my collection but I can't because it's out of focus, too dark, too cluttered, etc.

When I do a collection, it always has a theme.  Once I choose the theme, I go looking for items that fit that theme.  I want to be able to clearly see the item, in focus, and not anything else that might distract me from the item.   One of my big things is cropping, because those photos are soooo small, the item needs to take up the space.  So, even though I have done this before, I thought I'd see what I could do with a few photos and my Photoshop.  I use version CS2, which is a public domain version, so you can get it for free.  There are many other programs available also.  So I took a few items from the Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers (JCUIN) guild.  I hope none of you mind that I edited your pictures, and if you would like a copy, let me know.  I am purposely showing small pictures here because that is what you see in a collection.

original

First is a pair of beaded earrings from Shirley's Nook and Cranny.  Here is the original photo, right.  I like the color combination of the earrings, but I think the picture is a little dark.  Also, maybe it's just me, but those dark corners drive me nuts!  I wanted to brighten it up a bit, but since I had so much going in the background, I decided just to drop the background out of it.  (That was a lot more work than I bargained for because of those little sparkly bits in there.)

edited

Here is the edited version at left.  After I got the background out, I made it square.  (More on why later.)  Now I know about the rule of thirds in photography, and it is a good rule.  However, when you have a little thumbnail of an image, I think you want to make maximum use of your space.  So I rotated the image to take up more of the canvas.  I also brightened it up and put in a slightly graduated background.  (A plain white background would have been fine too.)

original

This next one I really didn't do much to.  It is a bracelet from Plethora of Jewelry.  I like the organic look of the stones.  I also like the composition, and the fact that it wasn't shot from straight over the bracelet.  The lower angle makes gives more dimension, or depth to the image.  The problem, as I see it, is the very harsh shadows caused by bright backlighting. The back of the beads are lit up nicely, but the fronts are in such shadow that you really can't see them well.  

edited

I couldn't really fix this one as well as I would have liked.   What I did was use the highlights/shadows tool to brighten the shadows and darken the highlights.  This gives it less contrast (it doesn't "pop" off the page how I like it to.)  But you can see the beads better.  I also used the spot healing brush tool to get rid of a few little lint or cat hairs that you can see in the original.  Fabric always runs the risk of getting linty, but some are much worse than others.  You don't notice it when you take the picture, but when you blow it up on your computer screen, there it is larger than life!!

original

Here is a stunning pendant by Artistic Creations by Rose.  The original photo is at left.  In a thumbnail, it's hard to see the pendant because of all the other things in the picture.  The subject is only taking up about 1/9th of the image even though the photograph itself looks great.  The border might keep it out of a collection on things that are round, multicolored, etc.

cropped

Basically all I did was crop this one, so you can more easily see the beautiful pendant.  I may have upped the contrast a bit, because I just can't resist doing that.  Now the pendant is the center of attention.  I would love to put this photo in a [round, spiral, twist, fiery] collection, wouldn't you?

original

 Now more on squares.  Here is a pendant necklace by Joyce's Custom Gems.  As you can see, it is a vertical picture because she is trying to show the whole necklace.  People do want to see the whole thing.  If you show a vertical image, however, you don't want it to be your very first picture.  The first image is automatically cropped into a square thumbnail, which is the first thing your customers see.  In this case, it actually crops out part of her pendant, but leaves the entire chain.

edited

Here is her image cropped into a square (and brightened up), so that when you are on her main page you can see the entire pendant.  You can also still see the little fish accent as well.  Then if a person wants to see more, they can click on the second (original) photo to see the entire chain.

original

Lastly, here is a bracelet from Tearis's Art Gallery.  This one also results in the very bottom of the key getting cropped out of the thumbnail, but I didn't want to drop the background of of this one too.  The main problem is that it's so dark.  Also the fact that the image goes off of the background causes some distracting edges.

edited

If I really wanted to put a lot of effort into this, I would drop out the background, drop the image into a square canvas and rotate it like I did the first pair of earrings.  But in this case I wanted to show you what a difference it makes when we just brighten it up.   I used the shadows/highlights option and then the brightness/contrast.  Then I couldn't resist using the clone tool to copy and paste little sections of background over those distracting edges.

I hope that you guys don't mind that I messed with your photos, and I hope you like what I did.  Of course, it's better (and a lot easier) to do these things with the camera than trying to edit it later.  Sometimes it's easier just to re-shoot it.  And one thing that must be done with the camera is to get your pictures in focus.  Some of these pictures are very low-resolution (small files) so that is another reason for keeping the pictures small here.  Beginning in October 2014, it's my understanding we will all have the zoom feature on Artfire, so that's another reason to shoot some higher resolution photos.

Boho Chic Jewelry

Years ago, when I first heard of "boho chic", I didn't really know what it meant.  But after seeing the word used a few times, I got the idea.  At some point I went and looked it up to see if it actually meant what I thought it did.  According to Wikipedia, boho chic is a style that draws on "various Bohemian and Hippie influences."  It defines Bohemianism as "the practice of an unconventional lifestyle."  

Get a haircut you damn, dirty, hippie!

Now, no one needs to define the word hippie for me.  I was a child during the 60's, and I know (and love) the hippy look.  But for those of you who don't know, it was a lifestyle back in the 60's.  To say it was a subculture may be an understatement.  I think it was an entire generation.  Think pot, LSD, psychedelic music, psychedelic clothes, flower power, love beads, peace signs and fringe.  I think probably what started it was the reaction of young adults to the Vietnam War, but it spread to other countries as well.  It reached it's peak in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the late sixties.

Janis Joplin

Of course, rebelling against the war doesn't entirely explain the fashion style.  Part of the fashion was definitely rebellion.  Men grew their hair long and didn't shave.  The natural look was certainly in, which was pretty much the total opposite of the early 60s.  Another influence was when the Beatles went to India to visit the Maharishi.  Add psychedelic drugs to the mix and stir it all together and you have hippie fashion.  Now, I'm just speculating at all of this, so if anyone wants to correct me, feel free.  (I'm too lazy to do the research!  Oh, did I say lazy?  I mean busy!)

The Beatles and the Maharishi - notice the beads!

Bracelet by Pink Sunset Jewelry Designs

The hippie jewelry was not expensive.  I'm sure quite a bit of it was homemade.  Macrame was in for plant holders and jewelry too.  


This macrame bracelet looks very much like something a hippie might have.  Although the large rhinestone might be a little on the fancy side.  A hippie might be more likely to have one or more 
cheap colorful beads.

Necklace by Shadow Dog Designs

I still remember the necklace I used to wear all the time.  I had a yellow shirt and the pendant was orange.  It was round.  It may very likely have been a peace sign.  I'm sure I still have it packed away in a box somewhere.  Even though this one isn't a peace sign, the om would fit right in too (reminiscent of the maharishi!)

Ankle Bracelet by Joyce's Custom Gems

We've all heard how hippies didn't like to bathe.  Actually I'm pretty sure that, even though they may not have had a bathtub, they did like to go skinny dipping!  They didn't necessarily like to wear shoes, or even any clothes at all.  That's why I couldn't resist including this bare foot with the ankle bracelet here.

Bracelet by Allen Designs by Michelle

This bracelet looked hippie to me because of all the different beads that have been incorporated with one focal piece.  Like, yeah, I've got a bunch of beads, so let's throw them all together! (No offense, it looks great!) Although a true hippie would have a peace sign for the focal piece.

Earrings by Shanghai Tai

Long and flowing is definitely a hippie mantra, especially when it came to hair.  "Let it all hang out!"  Dangling and eclectic, these earrings would fit in at the commune.  Even though these pearls are very organic looking rather than expensive, a real hippie probably would have some kind of bead other than a pearl.  These have a bit of a gypsy vibe, which was definitely "in".

Earrings by Specialtivity

Ok, now for the pièce 
de résistance, in my opinion:

FRINGE!  

As I was looking through fringed, seed beed earrings for a pair to include it was almost like I went back in time for a second.  I remember the pair I had.  They were kind of grey, and I think all one color.  This pair looks a little nicer than mine.  Mine were really cheap, and I'm sure they were made in Japan.

What happened to the hippies?  The war ended and I guess they all grew up.  I like to think there's a little hippie still left inside all of us.    I don't know about you, but this has certainly inspired me to go dig out some hippie clothes and see if I can find my old jewelry!

Taste the Rainbow!

Rainbow Chainmaille Bracelet

Lately I have been noticing a recurring theme popping up in some of the jewelry in the Jewelry Creators Unite In Numbers (JCUIN) guild:  rainbow colors!  With all the storms and tornadoes lately, we could probably all use some rainbows. So here are a few rainbows:





Here is a chainmaille bracelet by Meant 2B Cherished.  I also like the look of the silver on the edge -- just like a silver lining!

Rainbow Chakra Necklace

This dangly rainbow chakra necklace can be found at Maggies Jewelry.  It is made with real gemstones and sterling silver.

Floating Mushroom Rainbows Dreamcatcher

Stimulate your imagination with the Floating Mushroom Rainbows Dreamcatcher, cutsom made by Dream Catcher Man.  Don't you just love that title?  Dreamcatchers are to catch the bad dreams, but I'm guessing this one lets the mushrooms and rainbows through!

Chakra Rainbow Earrings

You can find these colorful Chakra Rainbow Earrings at Shadow Dog Designs.  The seven colors of Swarovski Crystal represent the seven major chakras, attached to sterling silver ear wires.

Wooden Rainbow Puzzle

Kids of all ages will have fun with this wooden rainbow puzzle by Artistic Creatons by Rose.  (Hint:  When you take the inside out, it's a tunnel!)

Rainbow Fused Glass Bracelet

This rainbow bracelet by Shanghai Tai (me) is made of bright colored glass cabs.  Each piece of fused glass is individually handmade, and has the colors of the rainbow flag.












Here's wishing you lots of rainbows!