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

To do list

I have a running list floating in my head of projects I would like to pursue. I have the ideas, inspiration, and many of the materials, but lack the time to actually follow through. It seems that even when I do have a block of time to pursue one of my new project ideas I don't. I think it is somehow safer to stick to the charm bracelet work I am most known for and that I know will sell. I have recently moved a little further outside of my comfort zone and done more stringing projects, earrings, and even some kilt pins.
I decided today that maybe I will be more apt to get out of my comfort zone if I post my intended "to do" list here.
Here it is:
stained glass sandwich pendants (Nautical Charts, Antique Photos)
Scrabble tile pendants
tumble antique blue and green glass in my rock tumbler (experiment)
get back into tile and found object mosaic furniture
paint antique chairs in funky colors for my new dining room
create a found object collage/mosaic for my bulletin board frame
pewter frame altered art pendants with printed clip art (Frida Kahlo)
finish Fimo skull beads I started 2 years ago
get back into wire wrapping with copper wire
create more chunky necklaces with vintage Lucite or turquoise
create more floating necklaces
create more memory wire bracelets and necklaces
work with antiqued brass chain and findings

Wow, I guess the list isn't quite as long as I thought it would be. I will be reporting back here as I make progress. I must remind myself that we will be moving, if all goes well, in a few months. Maybe organizing my new studio will inspire me to add to the list.

Favorite Sources for beads

My favorite place to buy beads has got to be Fire Mountian. I can not live without their headpins and silver plated beadcaps. The headpins are always uniform and priced right. Since I do mostly charm bracelets; I use a fair amount of headpins. At the height of my bracelet sales I would actually worry more about running out of headpins than I would milk or eggs. They are a staple around my house.

I also spend a fair amount of time in Hobby Lobby and Joann's. Otherwise, I buy vintage buttons, vintage bubble gum charms, and vintage beads on ebay.