Blooms for June!

We had a wedding to go to this month - of course, cause it's June! So, I got my outfit together - white linen pants and an awesome seafoam green top - very pretty. But I still needed a great bracelet to pull it all together. I wanted something really colorful, fun and loaded with pizazz!

I ended up with tons of glass flowers, enameled beads and toggle and a  mountain of colorful accents from Yvonne Irvin.

Definitely feeling ready to party at a wedding!

PDF or Not?

     I've been seeing a trend in the online stores lately. In addition to the physical item there is also the option of purchasing  the electronic or video files for the step-by-step instructions so you can make the product yourself.

     My daughter-in-law is a member of a site for educators that is built on this premise. You create digital files of lesson plans or other classroom activities and make them available to other members of the site for a fee. It's called Teachers Pay Teacher and it's and enormously popular site.

     I wanted to make an apron with a retro feel for a friend as a holiday gift. I went online and found that hundreds of patterns are available to purchase. Most of them are original patterns from Butterick or McCalls etc...

     These are usually reasonably priced and a great way to find a pattern that is no longer made by the company.

     This made me curious - and I started doing searches for patterns or instructions for other items. I found patterns for a purse that I wanted to try that I couldn't find a commercial pattern for anywhere!

     This one was a free download - and from this pattern I was able to make this:

So, I continue thinking and decided that I like the idea of making step-by-step instructions for some of my most popular items and at the same time continuing to sell the physical item for people who aren't inclined to try a DIY project. This could open up an entire new market and help me combat the loss of sales on Etsy to the Chinese ready made companies that have flooded the site.

What do you think? Is this going to cost me sales? Am I going to start seeing my currently unique items flood the market? Do people really want to make everything themselves?

Much to think about before I step into the void...

Bow Ties ~ Charming, Sexy, Cool, Nerd Chic, Fun, In Style!

Bow ties have made a wonderful comeback! I'm so excited about this - I love a man in a bow tie.

I don't care what kind of bow tie - there's a bow tie for every man and every occasion - they are the classic, timeless men's accessory!

When someone says bow tie, this is the image that immediately comes to mind... the ultimate sexy, cool, spy guy - Sean Connery. But then almost as fast I get several other images as well....

Bill Nye!! Of course... I've never seen him without his signature bow ties - he's won awards for his ties! Nerd Chic! Love this look!

My niece just got married - this is what the groomsmen all wore - completely adorable, sexy, fun. Men in fuchsia ties! It's a striking look with the black tux - so sharp, but still fun.

Bow ties, everyone can wear one.... seriously - Good Guys, Bad Guys..... equally awesome look!

Colorful guys look great - gotta love the pocket square accessory!

Really, really smart guys can totally rock a bow tie! Even if they're having a bad hair day.....

Funny guys look great in bow ties!

I can't think of any occasions when a bow tie won't rock the house. So, if you have a guy and bow ties aren't a go to accessory in his wardrobe - you now know the perfect Christmas gift don't you????

And - you're in luck - I happen to be making the most amazing bow ties!!

Batik in Blue!  

Peacock

Intense Red

So, head over to my website - www.rigglettes.com and have a look. It doesn't matter what style your guy is - a bow tie will make it better!

Eyeglass Chains - Add Some Fun!

Like millions of other people I wear glasses. I can see far away, but I'm blind as a bat up close. So, I wear reading glasses. The frustrating part is that I put them down... I forget where I put them or I leave them in the car, at work, at my sisters GAK!! Then I need them, can't find them, buy another pair and the cycle starts all over.

I must have at least a dozen pair of readers.

I looked at eyeglass chains...

Practical, sure -- but U-G-L-Y!

And.... what the heck is this little rubber thingy on the end???

BORING!!

So, I set out to make something that I would actually wear.... something colorful, something whimsical, something FUN!!

The more I made - the more they made me smile..... such fun! Now I always know where my glasses are and this definitely doesn't look like something my great grandmother would have worn! I even figured out a way to make those little rubber ends more fun!! Now I need to do a post on how to make them!

You can see more of these on my Etsy site: www.rigglettes.com

Summertime Earrings

Summer sun, summer flowers, summer bright colors... what to make when its hot, the kids are home, you're trying to plan vacation and a million other things are going on?

Earrings!

I love to make earrings... fast - easy - done! You can use all those  bits and pieces left over from other projects or things you bought that didn't quite work out in the bracelet or necklace you planned.

These are literally leftovers!! They are the cut away pieces from MyElements shapes made by Yvonne Irvin!

Sunny, bright, fun ~ these are the last two beads from a set I bought ages ago. Perfect for the shore!

Earrings are the perfect accessory when you don't want a lot of heavy stuff or too much hanging or bangling on your body. So hit that workbench and toss out a few pair and then get yourself to the beach!

Serving Up 2014 Bead Soup

 How I Got From This.....

                                                                        ........... To This

I have to start by saying that I struggled mightily with this years soup! I love the beads that my partner Johana Nunez sent to me. She does amazing enameled beads. I've always wanted to work with them so I was really excited when I opened her package and found a treasure of them! As I began to play with the beads, I had a definite vision for what I wanted to end up with, I'm just not sure that I accomplished exactly what I wanted.

I wanted to use ribbon, I wanted to have multiple strands, I wanted to have dark chain.... no ~ I've never managed to do any of these things before... but I'm supposed to be thinking outside the box, right?

Sigh.... I know, it was just too much change for my tiny brain!

This is the first piece I completed. I know, I don't see any beautiful enameled beads either... and... yes, this piece looks suspiciously like my standard style. 

I like it, I love the beads, I also love the colors but there aren't any of the things I promised myself I would learn how to use.

So, I kept pondering and sketching and thinking and trying to combine all these amazing beads in to an incredible piece that would be the envy of the world!

Then came the little bird bracelet.

Better.....

               I love working with colored wire and I really love the little bird clasp. This piece felt like a combination of Yvonne Irwin and Kerry Bogert - I'm a huge fan of both of them so that part was good.

But....

             It wasn't quite what I was hoping to come up with.

So.........





Back to the drawing board.

Hmm....

I'm starting to feel a little bit better about where I'm getting to... I like the short piece of circle chain - and its dark (bonus!). Cording - like that too, not ribbon but I think it works with this piece. I like that I managed to use a lot of Johana's beads! I'm also feeling pretty good about the fact that its asymmetrical!

Everything you see here came from Johana.

Ooohh!! I love all the pieces that came together in this one. I like the whimsical feeling of the little butterfly hoovering near the flowers. 

Simple - colorful - fun!

So, I never did get the ribbon worked out - but there's always next time. I'll keep trying new things but I have the feeling that I'm going to stick to my creative roots too!

Soup - Stage 2

Yea! I love Bead Soup!

I'm always so nervous about getting my soup - you wish for a partner that will send you something inspirational, something different, something awesome! I hit the jackpot with my partner this year!

I hope that everyone is getting connected with partners like mine! I've been smiling all evening! I got home from work today and there was a lovely package from my partner Johana Nunez!

I was so excited! Bead Soup is like Christmas - you never know what you're going to get, the suspense of opening the package is enormous!

 

Johana's package kept getting better! I opened the box to find all these delightfully wrapped little tissue parcels and decorated boxes. It makes you want to sing Pharrell Williams song - 'Happy', doesn't it?? They were almost too pretty to open.... almost!

Sha-zam!!!

The packages were loaded with beautiful enameled beads and some lampworks and fillers - My eyes were so FULL!! I love the colors - purple is very, very close to the top of the list of my all time favorite colors! I love the feisty little red butterfly and the bead caps that look like flowers. The focal is simply amazing, painted with tiny trees. Her work is just so lovely!

But truly, I was so completely excited when I saw the little bird....

Is that adorable!???! I loves me some birds! And this one is just so cute with his chubby yellow tummy and daring purple wing!  I'm already jealous of whoever gets Johana at the next Bead Soup!

I've never worked with the enameled beads before, but now that I have them I think they might be my new favorite beads! Even though they are pretty substantial, they're so lightweight and they have this whimsical sort of feeling to them. I'm going to simply hoard them for awhile, while I percolate about what to do with this amazing soup I received.

While you're waiting to see what Johana's beads inspire me to do, please take the time to check out her Etsy site - but don't be selfish and buy them all -- I'm definitely gonna need more of these!