How to market your crafts book

October 13, 2009

No general guidance here — just a tip of the hat to someone for a great idea she had!

We received a package of really attractive bookmarks from our blog partner Lisa Crone:

We loved these cute bookmarks :)

We loved these cute bookmarks 🙂

She combines stylish design, plus her ongoing theme (at least for me, “A Bead A Day” is suggested by the single bead here), plus a quick plug for her upcoming book, “A Bead in Time”.

Lisa made this promo short, sweet enough to make people want to keep it around, useful, and unique. I’d call this example a great craft business tip!

Bodacious biker belt buckle

October 8, 2009

Our designer Evette sent me over an idea for a bicycle belt buckle that she made:

Tough enough for a biker :)

Tough enough for a biker, but made for a woman 🙂

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. First heat belt buckle and then patina it.
  2. Use punch to make holes in the ornate plate & set in eyelets, hammer down and file, then patina.
  3. After patina dries on belt buckle, drop photo into the ornate plate, fill with resin & place belt buckle in desired spot so that it dries with the resin.
  4. After that dries, flip belt buckle over, level out and pour desired amount of resin (either over the entire ornate plate or just in the oval lip).

See how quick & easy it is to make hip jewelry! (Above the hip, I guess.) 🙂

Featured bead: rudraksha

October 7, 2009

Get to know a multi-faceted, many-faced bead!

The telling of the beads

The telling of the beads

Reddish-brown rudraksha or rudraksh beads are the seed of the fruit of the rudraksha tree, from India. (This tree, genus Elaeocarpus, also grows in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, some Pacific Islands and Australia.)

Numbers are often mentioned in connection with these beads. Rudraksha beads commonly have 5 mukhs or mukhis (faces of the bead), but you’ll find various numbers of faces on them. There are 108 beads per strand traditionally in a Hindu mala or prayer garland. Malas are used like rosaries in meditative prayer, as well as in traditional Indian medicine.

Closeup

Go ahead, stare ’em in the face 🙂

Rudraksha beads show a great deal of versatility. Because they’re a natural material, they work extremely well with your more organic designs. Because they’re exotic here in North America, they lend a funky, ethnic flair to jewelry. And because of their texture, rudrakshas can pair up in interesting ways with the more unusual beads, like lava, wood or nut beads.

Ever handled rudraksh beads? How would you describe them in 25 words or less? Leave a comment!

Birthstone jones? Citrine dream?

October 6, 2009

Citrine: the November stone 🙂

A great thing about citrine is that you’ve got options, options, options. Both the natural stuff and geometrically perfect lab-grown citrine are available, and each has its charms.

Shapes you can only find in natural citrine — small but rugged chip beads:

Brighten a November birthday party by bringing chips!

Bring chips to the birthday party!

Citrine that’s manufactured by humans is much more regular in shape:

Extra-faceted for extra shine: manmade citrine

Extra-faceted for extra shine: manmade citrine

With artifice comes pizzazz–dig this jazz:

A dash of lime-green quartz!

A dash of lime-green quartz!

You’re not dreaming, there are lots of ways to do your citrine-ing! Look what you can do with a megadose of “vitamin C”:

Several milligrams of citrine beads... :)

Several milligrams of citrine beads… 🙂

Riff on the theme, drop a comment below!

ITS: It's the Image Transfer Solution blitz!

September 17, 2009

As promised, I’m transferring some images from our digital cameras to our blog — To show your our recent Image Transfer Solution (ITS) workshop.

We had a whole crew putting this new product through ITS paces…

Busily trying all kinds of ideas

Busily trying all kinds of ideas

Everyone had lots of inspirations they wanted to try out…

So many images to transfer, so much jewelry to make!

So many images to transfer, so much jewelry to make!

In the spirit of yesterday’s belt-buckle blog post, here’s another approach…

Impressionist belt buckles, anyone?

Impressionist belt buckles, anyone?

You can do so many things with Image Transfer Solution…

Amazing images

Amazing images

It was neat to see how a transferred image works when it’s overlaid on another design…

Try layering contrasting images

Try layering contrasting images

While we were at it, we tried out some new products we’re introducing…

Game spinners & sprocket gears (available soon!)

Game spinners & sprocket gears (available soon!)

We learned tons from doing this workshop! Soon you’ll see an ITS technique sheet on our website. We’ve been adding more ITS-related items to our store, too, to enhance your experience. Check out new Wetordryâ„¢ polishing paper for truly delicate hand-sanded results. And Renaissance® micro-crystalline wax polish is a fantastic way to protect your transferred images!

Have you tried Image Transfer Solution yet? It’s a marvelous way to create custom pendants, beads, and more…we’d love to hear of your experiences with it in a comment below!

Cowgirl Moon & Dry Harvest – Resin Belt Buckles

September 16, 2009

These are one of the neatest new design ideas that our free-ranging design team has roped lately. Git along with it!

Top: "Cowgirl Moon". Bottom: "Dry Harvest".

Top: “Cowgirl Moon”. Bottom: “Dry Harvest”.

Created by: Laurae Sather

Cowgirl Moon Belt Buckle
1 #21-340-03-030 35x50mm rectangle gemstone donut, sodalite
1 #30-193 Belt-buckle back, nickel silver
1 #82-500-08 8oz kit EasyCast epoxy
1 Artisan drawn or copyright-free image

Dry Harvest Belt Buckle
1 #21-340-03-031 35x50mm rectangle gemstone donut, tigereye
1 #30-193 Belt-buckle back, nickel silver
1 #82-500-08 8oz kit EasyCast epoxy
1 Artisan drawn or copyright-free image

Tools and supplies: resin mixing supplies (#82-599), Crafter’s Pickâ„¢ The Ultimate adhesive (#60-280), Mod Podge®

TIPS:
Cut image to fit buckle blank, coat both sides with Mod Podge and let dry. Glue your image to the buckle blank. Once dry, glue the rectangular gemstone donut to the buckle blank and let it dry overnight.

Follow the directions for mixing the EasyCast epoxy and fill the ‘donut hole’ over the image with resin. Let it dry overnight, attach a belt and you’re ready to saddle up!

See our Epoxy Resin Technique Sheet for resin tips.

To view (PDF files), you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download it free here.

View more Resin design ideas, or post questions on the Rings & Things Discussion Forum. Don’t be shy! If you’re wondering, so is someone else!

Thanks, Laurae, for (excuse me) adding a new notch to our design repertoire!

Bead cruising to a private island

September 14, 2009

Beat the wintry blues with a crafty tropical cruise!

Come sail away...

How about talking DS (dear spouse) into a getaway trip for your holiday gift? The Bead Cruise will spoil you like a Princess, though it’s actually a Royal Caribbean boat 🙂

Some of the big names in craft jewelry will be aboard to teach you. How about workshopping with color expert Margie Deeb, “Beads, Baubles and Jewels” regular Mary Hettmansperger, Barb Switzer, Beverly Herman and our own blog partner Melanie Brooks?

Not to mention stops at a private island and in the Virgin Islands. And gift bags, workshops, cocktails, along with all the comforts of luxury cruising.

Here’s the website to “accidentally” leave up on the computer for your significant other to see…www.beadcruise.com 🙂

This could be you, y'know

September 11, 2009

Rings & Things would like to introduce someone to you…

Lucky #1

Lucky #1

Angela Bannatyne is the very first winner ever in our ongoing “I Want to be a Blog Partner!” contest. She’s already written her first blog post about it. Go have a read!

Every three months, we draw a name to be a guest Blog Partner. We’ll send goodie packs of R&T items for review, for use in jewelry-making, or to give away–your choice. It’s a great chance to check out some of the latest and the greatest in the realm of beads & findings!

The next drawing is at the end of October. If you put your name in at our Blog Partners program page, we’ll keep it “in the hat” till it gets drawn. So you don’t have to keep re-entering!

Best of luck!

Rings & Things reminds crafters about memory jewelry

September 10, 2009

For craft artisans casting about for the latest solid trend in baubles, memory jewelry makes an indelible impression… Rings & Things reminds crafters to keep a trove of new supplies in mind.

Memories...

Memories…

Image Transfer Solution (ITS) is a fluid that allows you to transfer images from laser/toner printers (but not ink jet) onto non-porous surfaces like metal, beach glass, wood, and unglazed tile. Using it is simple: it takes only heat-setting (in an oven or with a heat gun) and washing off the paper. ITS may also be mixed with pigments and used as paint on metal.

Photos or other images can be sealed between the tiny double panes of clear glass in new frame-charm findings to make custom keepsake jewelry. The bails of these frames measure 7mm (over 1/4 inch) inner diameter, large enough to fit most any cord. Platings currently on offer include ‘white’ metal and stylish copper plate. Three shapes enliven the charm of these handmade pendants, with rectangles, pentagons and squares available to set off the individuality of any cropped image. An assortment of these hinged picture-frame charms can make a treasured wearable photo album out of customers’ favorite snapshots, or even a gallery of art or choice found images.

Crafters shouldn’t forget to try out new shadow-box pendants as well. Also known as ‘dream boxes’, these findings have a single pane of glass in an antiqued-copper plated box that fits images about 1½ inch on a side. Display-box pendants like these can also be used to show off tiny prized treasures, from an antique coin or bead to a mini art assemblage.

Jewelry crafters may recall that resin-casting jewelry has made quite a sensation, and numerous bezel findings add even more possibilities for memory jewelry. All it takes is cutting an image to the appropriate size, gluing it into a setting like Rings & Things’ new sterling-silver bezel cups, and pouring in a small amount of epoxy resin such as EasyCast. The results are lasting memories in the form of pendants, earrings and other jewelry.

Suggest more memory-jewelry ideas in a comment!

World's longest beaded necklace

September 9, 2009

” A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” And a bead added to the world’s longest necklace is not lost…

The start of the world's longest beaded necklace (image from the Scranton Times-Tribune)

We heard from Mary Ann Corey, the co-founder of a nonprofit organization called The Portable Playhouse (TPP) . This is an art-therapy program for thousands of women and children recovering in hospitals and cancer centers in several states. They use glass, crystal and silver beads to create one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces that the patients get to wear and keep. They’re in 2 New York hospitals and 7 New Jersey hospitals, with many more in the surrounding areas and across the country waiting for this program. To date, they’ve worked with over 37,000 women and children, “beading one smile at a time.”

Seeking new and creative ways to implement and fund this unique program, TPP decided to launch a nationwide campaign to bead the world’s longest necklace.

Under the guidelines of the Guinness Book of World Records, along with the generosity of a New York bead company, TPP will attempt to exceed the standing record of 355 feet. People wishing to participate in this fundraiser can visit the World’s Longest Beaded Necklace website and donate a dollar per bead. The bead(s) will then be added to the necklace in their name or in the names of a loved one. TPP will then record the names of the donors as one of the world record holders. This campaign launched on July 30th and the necklace will be being beaded at headquarters in Forest City, PA until December 31st.

More importantly, this fundraiser will help spread awareness for the need of art therapy programs during this traumatic time in patients’ lives.

Over 40 hospitals locally and nationwide are waiting for TPP’s services. With the anticipated success of this fundraiser, hundreds more are expected, thus the reason for this national campaign.

Your support will be most welcomed, because as beaders, you all know the therapeutic value of beading. TPP needs to bead miles of smiles… So please forward this information to as many people as possible. Thanks for your consideration! For any additional information please contact TPP’s “bead” headquarters anytime.

“Bead Happy!”