The Multitask

     I love it when I'm able to multitask, my favorite has always been being able to read while driving. Audio books have saved my sanity countless times. My commute to work is right about an hour so as soon as I jump in the car I hit the play button and I no longer care about idiot drivers or the distance.

     I have a new multitask that I've found. I'm learning to knit, which I love, but I'm easily distracted by the television or dogs or comings and goings in my crazy house. A friend gave me a little set of simple rubber rings - stitch markers. Nice, so now I don't lose my place. I took it one step further and made a set of my own. I loved them so much that I've made half a dozen sets and I'm now carrying them on my Etsy site.

     How do you multitask?

Using Permalinks

    I recently had an accident that is going to keep me stationary for awhile. I decided to make good use of this time to learn more about the blog biz. I found (and shared) a great tutorial on making badges (mines over there on the right >>>)
    Now I'm learning about Permalinks. Have you ever gone to a blog, found a post you'd like to revisit but when you went back it was gone? Replaced by another posting? Permalinks are the way to prevent your blog posts from getting buried.
    Permalinks usually consist of a string of characters which represent the date and time of posting, and the title of the blog article. If you use Blogger to post you can easily create a permalink before you begin your article by simply selecting the Permalink button in the right hand column, select AUTOMATIC PERMALINK, give your article a title and save it. You'll see the permalink tag appear and "Poof!" you're done!  If you want to customize your links with specific titles or a coding system then select CUSTOM PERMALINK, add your title or code and save.
   Now, when someone is looking for that blog you posted two months ago that they saved - there won't be any frustration, they will simply click and go.

Permalink

http://rigglettes.blogspot.com/2013/01/using-permalinks.html

Automatic Permalink
Custom Permalink

Promote Yourself - Make A Badge!

     Do you have a badge for your blog? Well you should, its a handy little thing to have - an easy way for others to post a link to your blog on their site and visa versa. And advertising yourself is what its all about right?
     I'm not very tech-savvy but I know people who are! So when I decided that I needed to have a button to promote my blog I asked my DIL (she's extremely tech savvy!) and she gave me a link to another blog that had step-by-step instructions on how to create the badge and link it to your site.
     I've decided to pay-it-forward so you can all have a cool badge and share your badge and link easier to each others sites! Before you go there, I'll share this - I made my badge image by taking a picture of a bracelet I made, edited it in PicMonkey, saved it in Photo Bucket and then followed the steps to  add it to the blog.

http://teacherbloggingbasics.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-make-blog-button.html


     Now, after you've followed her simple instructions for making and adding the badge to your blog, you can add other peoples badges to your site too! If your a Blogspot user the steps go like this:

Go to the DESIGN link on your navigation bar
   Select LAYOUT
     Then select ADD A GADGET
       From the menu choose HTML/JAVA SCRIPT
          Title the badge, COPY & PASTE the code (below the badge you want)
SAVE your work -

Bada-Bing! Easy as pie ~ you've added a badge to your site!!  Feel free to practice by adding my badge to your site - and when you have yours made, message me and I'll do the same for you!

Wings to Help You Soar!

     Did you think I forgot about you? I didn't, I was just overwhelmed. The holidays, work, family and a little sadness. In other words, life got in the way for awhile. But, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger! Today, I'm a bit stronger.

     Awhile back I was lucky enough to score some really cool, fun beads from Genea Beads - I posted a picture of them. I've done a few projects with them...

      This morning they were yelling to get out of the stash and have some fun ~ when I opened the drawer ~ this is what happened!

     I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year!! Open the drawer - let your creative self out for some fun!

How Much? Finding a pricing scheme that works

     Awhile ago I read an article in 101 Bracelets Necklaces & Earrings (2012 Special Edition) by Lorelei Eurto about designing everyday jewelry. She said, "Jewelry buyers want to buy wearable, everyday jewelry that is both unique and affordable." Up to that time I had been struggling with pricing my work ~ if its too low you don't cover your overhead and go broke trying to do what you love, if its too high no one can afford it and you go broke.... the circle of sparkle. I had looked at the prices charged by other artists, read articles about pricing formulas, talked to other people - mostly I just got headaches.

     Lorelei's statement made me re-think my process for pricing. ..."unique and affordable".... that's what I want to sell! I already know I have the unique part figured out - affordable, that's more of a challenge.

 I decided that I wanted my price point for bracelets to be in the $20 to $30 range.  I love glass! I love lamp work. Problem is - artisan made lamp work can be V-E-R-Y pricey. I've seen 15mm beads for $40! An average number of beads in one of my bracelets is six - do the math!  I also love silver as an accent - well silver prices have soared in the last couple years. I don't want to give up working with materials I love, so what I do is combine artisan made beads with commercially made beads and I use good quality base metals and silver plate.

     In the piece pictured here the flower bead was made by Laura Critchfield, one of my absolute favorite artists, the remaining beads are commercially made glass from bead shows or local bead stores. The silver accents and toggle are about half and half silver plate and base metals - I love the look of it and best of all I can sell this piece at $30 and not go broke!

Be creative - not just in your designs but in the way you run your business!

Themed Jewelry ~ Do You or Don't You?

This is a question I struggle with - should I make a bunch of skeleton earrings in the hope that I'll be able to sell them before Halloween? Or ~ do I skip it because really, how often is anyone going to wear holiday themed jewelry???

Should I only make jewelry for the really B-I-G holidays?? Are people going to be happier rockin' a really cool Santa necklace? Is Santa more important than the Easter Bunny? or those adorable leprechauns? How does anyone decide?

How about this... maybe I just go with vaguely seasonal jewelry? It's Fall!... wear orange, it's Spring!.... wear pastels, it's Summer!... wear tangerine and citrus, it's Winter!.... ick.....

What's a jewelry maker to do?

Where Do You Work?

 It's fascinating to see other peoples creative spaces.  It gives me good ideas for storage and work areas. It also makes me feel better - I know I'm not the only messy, creative person! So, here's a look at my current workspace.

This is temporary space for me - we moved in May and the plan is to build a work room off the garage. Until that happens I'm using a little sitting room. Its a good space with a huge window but not big enough for everything.

 I have a couple of these spinning tool holders - this one came from Pampered Chef but I've seen them in office supply stores too. It's a wonderful way to have just what I need at hand and they don't take up much space.

This is another one of my favorite storage ideas. Shallow drawers, on wheels with little  compartments - Awesome!

These little guys were a gift from my clever son. Their actually for nuts and bolts but they work really well for beads! They stack, are really sturdy, have clear fronts so I can see what's inside and are only about $10 each!

Here's another idea that has worked out really well. I bought these 6' lengths of counter top from Lowe's. They're already mitered so the corners fit together perfectly. They have a built in back splash so nothing rolls off to the floor! I have base cabinets under the ends and legs under my seating space. The counter comes in 4' - 12' lengths and about half a dozen colors, it ranges in price from $40 to $100.

I still need to head out to the garage when I want to cut jumprings or do any other messy projects but this is a great little temporary space!