Shockingly Neglected

I've been a very, very bad blogger.

In my own defense, I could make the case that I've had my hands full lately, what with moving into new digs, health issues, yadda yadda.  I really should have been blogging through this stuff.

Instead of trying to recap, I'll just press on from here. 

I'm going to be in an arts & crafts show near the end of October.  I'm trying to keep my expectations low but at the same time I'm harboring hope that this may lead to a permanent place in a gallery in Old Town.

I'll have two tables, and I've been busily making things for this show - lots of "Memento Mori" , "Day of the Dead" sort of things for one table, then everything from my ArtFire shop on the "beadwork sample sale" table. 

Here's some of what I've managed to make so far:

2 dozen earrings and 18 bangles so far.  A few more chunky bangles are on the worktable, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to do any neck pieces. 

I just found a new source for boxes for embellishing! I'll be very happy to get back to making more expressive bead embroidered pieces, but first I have to dye these boxes. They are a rather nauseating shade of yellowish seafoam green at present.  I prefer a much more neutral base - something more subtle. 

So I've got my work cut out for me, and there will be more later.  

ArtFire in the News

Lovely article over at ecommercebytes -

Nice to see my new cyber shop home is moving in a forward-thinking, customer friendly sort of way.

Speaking of homes, here's what I've managed to sort out in our new apartment, supply-wise:

And here's the heap of findings I've yet to sort:

 So far I've managed to locate all my copper bits.  Pewter is next on the agenda.  It's been a lot of work, but getting all my stuff rounded up has been a lot like Christmas - many things a surprise - When did I get this?  What the heck is this for?  WHAT WAS I THINKING

Cover me - I'm goin' in - more later.

ArtFire and My First Sale There!

Like so many others, I was disenchanted by the selling site, Etsy.  My last sale there was in September of last year.  I thought I had merely boarded up my shops there, but apparently Etsy decided to blow them up and salt the earth where they had been standing.  So I joined ArtFire in late April; after nearly two months of my scattered time to get (almost) everything posted from scratch, I felt ready to throw open the cyber doors.  I checked in every day, tweaked this and that, promised myself I'd read the ArtFire sellers' guide "to success" at some point and post something in the forums at least once a day.  We all know how that goes.

I was getting some traffic - redirects from here and my Facebook page mostly - but no inquiries, no real interest.  I was getting a little down about it all.  My husband and I were talking just a few days ago about how long I should try selling on ArtFire - he convinced me to keep the shop open through the holiday season. 

Next thing I know I get an email from one of my Etsy customers - she went looking for me there and coming up empty, searched me out and not only found me but gave me my first ArtFire sale. 

This is what she bought a few years ago:

This is a beaded fringe bracelet with brass elements and a brass dragonfly charm I called "Romance."

This is what she bought yesterday:

This is a beaded fringe bracelet with gemstone rounds and a Mexican carved wood butterfly bead as the weight/charm. 

If you'd like to know how to make one for yourself, you can purchase the pattern from The Jade Dog Designs --> LINKY

It had been so long since I've had an online sale that it took me a minute to remember what to do - crazy, eh?  I've got to step up my game and insure it's not ANOTHER year before my next sale!

Cheers and naturally, more later.