My CrAzY earring creating binge today

Today was TJ's last day of school before summer vacation.  After dropping him off for a half day, I managed to create 25 pair of earrings.

 I was into trade beads and crosses today.  I will need to be placing another Fire Mountain Gems order soon!

Hopefully I will get these listed in my shop by the end of the week.
Check out earrings in my shop here.

My designs vary depending on the day's mood.
Sometimes I go with kitschy vintage plastic gumball charms and other times it Swarvoski crystal or genuine gemstones. Here are a few of my recent color mixes.
Check out my etsy shop to see what I created with these beads!

Summer Fun Odds and Ends

Well, I guess I chose well for my last entry. Two of the four sold already. I am excited to finally have used s few of the antique celluloid animal charms. I paid close to $100 for the stash of vintage celluloid animal charms that I have, back in my crazy ebay sales days.

I have a few new creations, but haven't found time to list them yet.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Not sure what we will do. I know it will involve the beach and some good food, other than that, what more does a girl need?

Close to closing on the new house. I can't wait to get moved into my new studio. I may have to forgo beading for a little bit to get the rest of the house organized.

I created a bright and fun etsy treasury today. Check out my etsy shop for a link.

Non-stop creating...

Ahhhh, summer is finally here. The garden is in and school is out; it is time for some creating. I recently went on a creating binge that resulted in an eclectic mix of new necklaces foe my etsy shop.

I finally got around to breaking out my huge stash of vintage celluloid bubblegum charms from the 1940's. It is hard parting with them, as I know that they are hard to find, but I am thrilled with the resulting necklaces on antiqued brass chain.

I creating a few more chunky turquoise creations and started to experiment with some vintaj brass. I am really happy with the results.

Now, I will have to sit back and wait to see how sales will be. I recently looked at some Paypal statements and realized that my etsy sales for the year were about one sixth of my sales for the previous summer on ebay. I am still happy to trade the sales in for the relaxed pace and friendly atmosphere of etsy! Money isn't everything.

JunQue Jules ended up being featured in three etsy treasuries last week! What a great way to kick off the beading season!

Ocean Potion Treasury with mermaid treasure bracelet

Celebration Treasury with sparkling Pink and Purple Necklace

Fun Red, White, and Blue Cowgirl Treasury with my Vintage Gumball Charm Cowgirl Bracelet

Geat New Reading

Recently I took a trip to the book store and scooped up some great finds. The first was a jewelry magazine from the U.K. called Making Jewellery. This was a great find full of new ideas with a fresh perspective. I already sell quite a bit to customers in the U.K., so I figured I may as well add the word "jewellery" to my tags on etsy. Now my U.K. customers will have an easier time finding me.

The next great gem I found was a book called The Handmade Marketplace. This great book from Storey Publishing is full of tips and tricks for selling your wares "locally, globally, and online." The author is Kari Chapman. I love the ascetics of the book and her ideas. I also love that she gives validation to the idea that it is okay for crafters to branch out. I have always dabbled in many arts and crafts and appreciated the "Amen" this book provides. Another great element of this book is the plethora of advice she peppers in from other successful crafters. I highly recommend this book. No matter if you are new to selling your wares or have sold over 1000 pieces like I have, you will find tips and tricks well worth the cover price of 14.95.

The third bit of reading I added to the tower on my nightstand was the 10th anniversary issue of Gatronomica. I love this magazine for its scholarly approach to food which often seems to mingle with art. This of course is the best of my two worlds all rolled up together. I may even breakdown and choke up the 42.50 to subscribe. I am almost sure that the price is less than in the past. I really enjoyed Carol Field's "Rites of Passage in Italy". Although one of favorite and most popular bracelet themes is El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), I never knew it was also celebrated as a bright and happy holiday in Italy as it is in Mexico. I think that may put a new spin in my next Muertos bracelet!

With Spring approaching it is important to be open to new inspirations where ever they may lie. If you aren't open to inspiration from odd places you may miss out all together. Happy Spring!

Beading Contests

With all of my excitement last month you would think that I would have gotten my various submissions for upcoming deadlines together, but I haven't. Beyond my original couple of days of planning and creating a few things, I haven't given my Bead Star submissions much thought. I sent an email to Bead Trends with a few submissions for the August 2010 issue only to find that their in-box was full! I guess that is what I get for waiting until the last minute. I am still not sure if they received my submissions, but I would have heard something by now. I managed to sell one of those bracelets on etsy already anyhow.
I have had a very productive month both creation and sales wise. My etsy sales seem to be growing exponentially and I have continued to find more time to create. I have been making more strung and memory wire creations as opposed to my usual charm bracelets. The charm bracelets take much more time, so obviously I am able to produce more product than if I was doing all charm bracelets. A typical JunQue Jules charm bracelet takes at least three hours from starting to select the beads to creating and placing the charms.
I am happy about my recent etsy success because it is sometimes too easy to yearn for my former eBay days when I could easily sell 25 bracelets in one weekend; some going for close to $200, if bidding got intense. I also miss the excitement of watching the bids climb from minute to minute. I am still happier with the pace and community I find at etsy.
Another positive this month has been the creations done by my (almost) three year old son. He has gotten really good at stringing plastic pony beads on leather cord. I am wearing one of his necklaces today. He sits on my lap and beads while I bead. I am loving this, but I am forgetting the beads awaiting me to pick up under my design table right now.

How flattering...

This has been a great month for me on etsy. I think it may be my best yet. With some multiple item sales I have sold around ten items this month. Ironically, that would have been a slow DAY for me back in my ebay days. I really do enjoy the more relaxed pace and warmth of the customers on etsy though. I think I would trade dealing with ebay for less sales anyday. I just love etsy!

Also on the flattering topic-I love searching "junquejules" and seeinf my work featured on so many blogs. What fun! Thank you.

I know that I need to get some photos up, but having to deal with so much Photoshop and InDesign work with my duties as the school news paper adviser, I am a little lazy in the photo are right now. Oh yeah-and not to mention the yearbook-a whole nother stoooorrry. I will post some pictures soon.

Back in the groove...

Since my little guy was born almost 3 years ago I haven't found as much time for the beads as I would like. Somehow, miraculously, I have found more time than usual lately. At the same time I have also discovered the Bead Star contest. Since discovering it less than a week ago I have decided on 5 of my 9 entries. I am glad that I didn't know about it sooner, as I know I would have second guessed my entries for months.
Along with the extra time to bead my sales seem to be picking up on etsy as well.
To make this a trifecta-We are only a few months away from closing on a new house which will greatly increase my studio space. I will no longer be relegated to a cubby in our library/husband's office/everything else room.
I will post a photo of my current studio as soon as I can put my on going projects away long enough to make it at least appear tidy-one of the side effects of having a toddler-I don't want to spend precious beading time on organizing. I think I need to remind myself how therapeutic sorting can be.
Ahh the good old days before having children-life was very different. I must remember-without my little guy in the house there would be no one to share my love of vintage buttons with. I could never have imagined beading with a toddler on my lap sorting buttons would work-but it does. It has to.

If you haven't checked out etsy yet you must! Here are a few of my favorite items:

Here are some current listings from my etsy store.

A Link To My Store On Etsy...

My store is up, but in progress. I expect to have items listed my mid-April.
http://www.junquejules.etsy.com/

Beading Season is Upon Me!

Here is my first attempt at setting up a blog. This is probably something I should have done a long time ago. My fourth summer beading season is right around the corner, and I know my return customers will be anxious to see what I have in store for them.
I am in the beginning stages of setting up a store on etsy to compliment my ebay sales. I love the community on etsy and hope to eventually base most of my sales from the etsy site.
This has been a wonderful school year and thus I don't have quite the "bead itch" I usually do this time of year. Last Spring, at this time, I had beads on the brain. I could hardly wait to get into the bead room full time. This year my mind is filled with colors and ideas, but in a more calm manner than last year.