Trying Artfire...Again

Only this time I am trying out a Pro Account. I received an email from Artfire offering a 30 day free trial of the Pro Account and since I was already a basic member I decided to go ahead and give it a go. I have to say I have been a fan of Artfire's offerings such as the Rapid Cart (which I have added to my blog at the right) and the Artfire Kiosk for your Facebook Fan Page (which I also have added). Plus I love the fact that you don't have to sign up for an account to purchase from any of the sellers on there. I figure it's 30 days and then if nothing happens it is no loss and I can just go back to the basic account...or if it goes well then I can go ahead and continue with the Pro Account and pay the monthly fee. Lately I have been trying to do a few things to drum up sales but it just seems like a no hoper sometimes but I know that several people have commented on the lack of sales over the past few months. I did finally sign up for Google Checkout which is great to have as an option since I know there are some people who just are not happy with PayPal. Always have to give yourself as many options as possible for some things.

Meeting with The Boss....

in the swamps of Jersey aka Giants Stadium. If you've read my blog for a bit then you will be able to figure that one out! So, I won't be posting or doing any Entrecard drops until Monday. On that note, I have decided to leave you with some eye candy until I get back. These are a few new items I've been working on lately. Funny thing about the first pair of earrings is when I showed them to the husband he says "They aren't very even". Ummm yeah that was kinda the point. They are meant to be random swirls of silver and rose wire.

More rose wire with a 4mm rose Swarovski bicone dangling at the bottom.

Lucite flower earrings in red with a handmade ear wire in sterling silver.

Hammered copper wire swirls.


I'm planning on adding quite a few items to my Artfire shop since they are having a promotion during the month of October for anyone who has a Basic Account, you can list as many items as you'd like over the normal 12 you are allowed. For FREE! I figure I'll take advantage even though I haven't sold a thing on there yet maybe if I add more items then I'll have more of a chance. I know that lately I've read over on the Etsy forums that a lot of people are closing their shops on Artfire because of lack of sales. It's worth giving it a few weeks and if still nothing then I can always list/relist over on Etsy.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll see ya Monday!

Got My Mojo Back

Part of the problem, when I hit my "creative fork" in the road, was that I was having a B*t&# of a time trying to figure out how to wrap the cabochon in the above necklace. You see when I initially bought the seed beads I wanted to do a peyote wrap around it but it's actually a very big cabochon and it was so fiddly and, well, it just didn't work. Then I knew that I probably needed to do some kind of netting around it. My first attempt was to do four rows of netting around and to connect it but I soon realized that too was just not going to work. Frustration was seriously setting in and my friend Jennifer gave me good advice "set it down and forget about it". Well, I did put it down and started to go through all my old Bead & Button magazines in the hopes that something would jump out at me and lo and behold it did. I found a pattern for wrapping a button using netting and that was the answer. The pattern used only one row around to connect THEN do the rest to "capture" the cab. Yeah, I know, easy peasy right? Why didn't I think of that to begin with? I think I was so hell-bent on doing peyote at first that I wasn't able to see the woods for the trees. I should get a photo of the back since it actually is kinda pretty too but I wanted to at least show this off. By the way, the cab is one I made and is glass fused using dichroic glass to get that beautiful effect. The rope is a twisted herringbone which isn't very thick but does the job. When I finished this, I put it on to see how it looked and my husband says "It's kinda big isn't it....bold?" like that is some kind of bad thing....lol. The cab measures almost 3"/7cms across at it's widest point and is 1.5"/4cms tall, so yeah it is big but that was kind of the point!


The next piece uses more beads from Sorta Flowering Designs, they are their seeds called Karma. I wanted to do something that would not take away too much from the beads. Despite the fact that they are a smaller bead they are just gorgeous and the colors are so pretty. I ended up making waves with argentium silver wire and then adding the beads with Swarovski crystals in violet and aquamarine AB. I actually even made the clasp and hook on this one too. I have to admit that the wave sections were initially meant to be an 'S' section but I used a 2" piece of wire since it was already cut and the wave happened instead. Happy accident since I prefer this look.

So now that I'm not standing in the middle of the road anymore I shall continue to play. Planning on going to the SNGMS shop today and work on some more cabs to wire wrap. I have a rivoli that I have all wrapped but just can't find the right crystals to go with it, so that is one that I have put down and will get back to.

Also, thanks to all for the information about Artfire, I have now opened a shop there, one of the free accounts. So far, it looks like a great place and I'm really hoping it goes better over there. I do think they seem to be more attentive to what sellers AND buyers want from a site. I'll be putting up my Rapid Cart on my blog as soon as I get a few more items listed.

One last thing too, apologies to Jerri over at Gems By Jerri and Wiggy over at Wiggys Musings. Both tagged me and I have yet to get to them. Sadly my anxiety over not being able to figure out what to create overtook me. So thanks to both.

Creative Fork in the Road

The sign should really have 3 prongs on it for this post. Now I'm not talking about a creative block, that would be when you just can't come up with anything. The ideas just don't flow. When I refer to a creative fork in the road I simply mean, I have too many ideas. My mind just can't stop thinking about different jewelry designs. Sure, that could be a good thing but here is why there should be 3 prongs on my fork - do I work on a chainmaille design? or something with wire? or maybe do some bead weaving? OK, so I could do a little bit of all three at once but my anxiety would take over and I'd have to finish one project before I could move onto the next one. I really want to get back over the the Gem and Mineral Society's shop too. If I did that then I could work on some wire wrapping. I have been working on one beadweaving project but it has had me ripping my hair out so I keep having to put it down and then get back to it later. I'll post pics of that one once I get to a good point to show it off. So, do you ever get like this, too many ideas, not enough time or supplies? Or just can't decide which project should come first?

On the other hand, I could be negative and say "Well, the economy stinks, no one is buying much jewelry so why bother with anything". Nah, I just can't do it.....the compulsion to create just overcomes me. Sadly, you could say I'm like the heroin addict looking for their next fix. I NEED to BEAD or make chainmaille. Considering my analogy, I guess there could be worse things to be addicted to.

Now, since I'm on the subject of bad economy and slow sales, what are other Etsy sellers opinion of the site right now? I know they finally caved in on the whole SEO debaucle but I still am starting to feel like it just isn't really a great place to waste my money on, listing and re-listing. I know there are many people who have gone over to ArtFire and I really like the way they look and how attentive they are to sellers but I really can't afford to spend $12 a month to list all my jewelry with no guarantee of any return. I suppose if I was working, then I might consider it. I've been told they have a free account which has a limit on how many items you can list but I can't seem to find any information on how much the fees would be if I did sell something. I even asked Artfire John over on Twitter and he just referred me to their unlimited $12 a month plan. I don't think it is too much to ask to be able to try it out. Obviously if I were happy and selling then I would upgrade to the other account. I did see someone had on their blog the PayPal widget which looked pretty cool. It certainly would cut out the middleman and no more fees other than PayPal's. Any opinions on all these sites and where to sell?

1000 Markets

Not familiar with 1000 Markets yet? I know most people have heard of Etsy and Artfire but 1000 Markets is a great site for sellers of handmade. They are still in their Sneak Preview mode but are open for business, so to speak. I have been on there since November and I really love it. OK so I haven't actually sold anything on there yet but let me tell why I love this site so much.

First, no fees unless something sells. Not even free but "you can upgrade a listing" for an extra 20 cents here or 50 cents there. So everything in my shop over there right now hasn't cost me a penny. "But you haven't sold anything yet?" you say. Well, yes but as mentioned they are still technically in Sneak Preview and once the ball gets rolling then I think it will be a great alternative for shoppers.

Second reason for loving 1000 Markets - the markets. You see 1000 Markets is based on traditional markets where you go and can find many different things in one place. There are many different markets for jewelry depending on style and taste. You also have markets based on location such as Spirits of the Southwest which is a new market that I am involved in. It is a coming together of artisans in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico regardless of what your medium is. There are markets for photographers, food, fiber, eco-friendly and the list goes on and on. What a great way to look for something if you know exactly what or where you want to find it.

I do have to add that the one downside at the moment to 1000 Markets is that it is currently for US buyers and sellers only. Obviously once they are "live" then that can be changed down the road. For now though I'm enjoying being a part of something new and exciting.