Back to the Grindstone

My rings finally came in and I was able to make Ann's bracelet for her. It shipped out yesterday, so hopefully she'll receive it in another day or two. It turned out beautifully (for my first Full Persian) and I was so glad I got the opportunity to make it for her. I had a really hard time finding copper clasps, so I ended up making one and giving her a choice from 3 different styles. Fortunately, she liked mine better than the others, so it ended up staying. =) I hope she truly enjoys wearing it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Now, it's back to the grindstone. I get to continue with the "entering data" part of my inventory. I think it'll go pretty quickly as soon as I get the program down. I already have everything written out on paper, so I don't have to search for info as I enter each one in. Maybe... just maybe, I can get it all done tonight. Wishfull thinking, I know... but it would be really nice for it to happen that quick, since I have lots and lots of rings just sitting here waiting to be made into chainmaille.

Patiently Waiting

I've been asked to do a custom order for a Full Persian bracelet in Copper by a very sweet woman and I'm trying to be patient while waiting for the rings to arrive. It's getting really hard to do, as I ordered them almost a week ago (tomorrow). It's not that they're taking longer than normal to get here or anything, I'm just anxious to get started on it. I do get all excited when I've ordered rings. They're all shiny and pretty when I open them up and having them around means I'll always have something to do. I did have a pretty big order, so I'm hoping they'll be here today or tomorrow.

I'm almost finished with inventory. Thanks to Ted, I was able to get all of my supplies counted pretty quickly. Now it's just a matter of getting them all into the computer. Of course the data entry will have to wait once I get the rings, but I don't mind pushing it aside. =) You never realize how many supplies you have until you have to take inventory. Jewelry, I pretty much knew because I look at it every day. It is a bit different seeing it all on paper though and I'll probably pass out when the total cost of it all is figured up. My Polymer Clay supplies were crazy. LOL I have tons of PC in all different colors, glitter, pigments, vases coming out the yang... it's nuts. Even if I do run out of rings to do chainmaille, I can't ever say I don't have anything to do. LOL

Ted changed my Godaddy account last night, so I should be able to work on my website soon. He had to change it over so I could use templates instead of HTML. I'm excited about that too. I'll finally have another outlet other than Etsy where I hope my work will be seen. I do like Etsy, but it just so crowded... especially the jewelry side of it. Etsy does have alot of great people, Street Teams and wonderful art, so even after my site is up, I'll still stay at Etsy. I've met too many wonderful people to leave, plus our Freethinkers team is just getting started.

It's taken me just about all day to get this post written. I have some time on my hands throughout the day, so I figured "why not". I did just check the mail and my rings came... YAY! They're all so pretty! That's at least enough rings to do four bracelets and a couple pairs of earrings. I can't wait to get home and start...

It's Tax Time

I haven't been doing much creating since the weekend... I'm trying to get ready to file taxes. This will be the first year I'm filing for my business and I'm kind of at a loss as to what I need to do. I'm trying to research as much as I can on the internet, but I'll end up calling my Accountant in the end to get specifics. The biggest part of what I need to do is inventory and I am SOOOO dreading that. My boyfriend installed an inventory control program on my computer, which will help out tremendously... it's just going through everything to see what I have. He's not even sure that filing this year will be a good idea since I am still in the start-up phase. I guess he's trying to tell me that I'm still just a bit unorganized. LOL

As soon as I get all this tax stuff done, I'll be ordering some more rings and getting back to creating chainmaille. There's a ton of weaves I want to try, but I can only do one at a time. I actually have the rings to do the Jens Pind's weave sitting right in front of me. It's all too tempting to just drop the tax stuff right now and work on it, but I really do need to wait.

I have a little special going on for those who actually read my blog. If you purchase any jewelry piece off of my Etsy store, enter BLOGSPECIAL in the Notes to Seller and I'll give you a 15% discount on the listed price. If at all possible, convo me BEFORE you add it to your cart and tell me BLOGSPECIAL and which piece you wish to purchase. I'll then change the listing price just before you purchase it. This will save on sending a revised invoice to you. Either way is fine though... just remember BLOG SPECIAL. =)

I have featured another Freethinker Artist, Le Chat Noir Studios, over to the right. Please be sure to stop by her shop and check out her fabulous art dolls.

Til next time...

Peace, Love and Happy Creating

Out With The Old... In With The New

Wow! I can't believe it's 2008. I had a very busy end to 2007... making jewelry as gifts, trying to find time to wrap everything and getting the house cleaned up for my folks. I made Ted's mom a 20 gauge Byzantine bracelet, my dad got a 16 gauge Byzantine bracelet and my mom got a 9 row 4-in-1 weave bracelet. I saved my mom's bracelet for last because I knew it would take the longest. Little did I know it would take me almost 13 hours to make it. Yes... I stayed up all night making, because of course, I waited til the last minute to do hers. As they were showing up, it was being put into the tumbler. How's that for perfect timing. LOL Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures of it, but the next time I'm down there for a visit, I'll get plenty of 'em.

I got a few new toys for Christmas... one being my new laptop. It's so awesome and beautiful! And it's so wonderful not to have to use my son's to run my shop. It was a royal pain trying to get him off long enough for me to get anything accomplished. I have lots of new programs to play with and lots of new stuff to learn. I want to say "hopefully I'll have enough time...", but I'm actually hoping my jewelry business will pick up so I won't have time to mess with anything else. =)

I've listed a few new things on Etsy since my last post. I do believe they're all earrings too. Not that I mean this in a bad way, but they are less time consuming than bracelets and necklaces. I can get more created and can still tear myself away in between to do other things around the house. Once I set out on making something, I'm pretty much glued to it until it's finished. That's NOT good for the others that live with me and depend on me. LOL But I do enjoy it, no matter what I'm making. Chainmaille is so relaxing... it's almost like I'm meditating when I'm creating. I just zone in to the piece and forget about everything else around me.

So here's the earrings I've made... The first pair, The Vision, is of my own design and I think it's truly beautiful. The second is a mixture of chainmaille weaves (Byzantine and 3-in-1) and the third pair is the Shaggy Loops weave. As usual, if you'd like more information on them, just click on my shop above.