Art Jewelry Elements May Component Reveal

Art Jewelry Elements (AJE) is a sisterhood of talented jewelry makers.  They share tips, host giveaways, encourage crafters to participate in fun blog hops and they've created a supportive space to share ideas of all sorts.  This awesome team consists of Jennifer Cameron, Niky Sayers, (I follow Niky SOOO much she probably thinks I’m stalking her), Diana Ptaszynski, Lindsay Starr, Kristen Stevens,  Jennifer Davies-Reazor, Lesley Watt, Melissa Meman, Linda Landig (SUPER TALENTED LADY), Susan Kennedy and Caroline Dewison.  They have great energy and are willing to share their talent with a universal audience.

Let me tell you, these ladies might look like a friendly bunch but they scare the bejeebers out of me.  They are driven, talented, passionate and inspiring.  I am a beginning beader/jewelry maker and these ladies are leading artists at the top of their game.  Regardless I keep signing up for their blog hops and giveaways because the AJE team is a source of encouragement for me. 

This month I won a couple of beautiful Beaded Beads from Sue Beads.  The design came from Debra Schwartz @ Datz Katz.  Sue made several pairs in different color combinations and gave them to three luck winners (ME) who have to create something with the beads and write a blog post revealing their project.  I was a lucky winner a few months ago too!!

The three lucky winners for May are:

Elisabeth Auld

Mischelle Andrade

Karen Martinez

So when I was chosen the wheels started turning but I am not a seed bead expert.  As the month continued on and time crept up on me I decided to create an eclectic piece.  I love bracelets...wear one everyday.  So this is what I came up with!

Materials used:
2-Beaded beads provided by Sue Beads
16mm Venetian glass disc blue/gold
11mm seed beads
8mm Swarovski rounds
6mm Swarovski pearls - fern, ivory
4mm white cat eye beads
Lampwork discs
Gold findings

Thank you ladies for all you do for our community.  I am honored to have been chosen and my hope was to do your pretty beads justice. 

Blogging

Life is pulling me in many directions these days; my health, my garden, my family, the J.O.B., my chickens…you know what I’m talking about.  Despite my lack of focus there has been a lot of activity in our shop this past month! 

We’re not getting any activity on Etsy other than team generated likes, etc.  Even though I’ve read many, many blog posts and books about marketing, SEO and blogging there are days where I just don’t feel that the results warrant the time and energy that I have put into this.  Right now we are only posting a few items on our Fairies Market Etsy site because shop members are having better luck by focusing their efforts elsewhere like craft fairs and local art shows.  

My goal is to be a successful blogger who has time to post on several sites and create relationships, building on those relationships and working together on artful projects.  Creating success for all!  Strategizing and understanding the numbers is an area that I’m learning more about but when I’m doing that I’m not creating.  How do you do both?  Do tell how you maintain "balance".

I’m happy to report that the other shop members are creating and selling and growing the business!!  Go TEAM!  Knowing what makes people make a purchase is analytical, I know.  Artists aren’t always analytical and techies aren’t always crafty.  Here we are back at finding balance - it is tough at times.

Trying to create a successful campaign is where I’m at so if you have any helpful hints or recommendations please share that information in the comment box below.  I know there are readers out there that could use some helpful hints (besides me).  

One thing I know for sure is that this path is different for everyone.  There is no set number of hours that will give you “X” results.  It is a lot of work and something you have to work at if you want MAJOR results for your site.  I'd be happy with a few more followers but without the content that's unrealistic.

Below are some helpful sites that I’ve found online for creating a blog, maintaining a blog, SEO, finding your niche, etc.  I hope you find this information helpful.  Please share your tips with our audience. 

You will find lots of helpful information on creating and blogging at Interweave. 

Want to learn how to make money with your blog check out.....

Need help adding social media icons to your sight?  I found some helpful hints on Sew Many Ways you'll lots of good information and fun link parties here too.

Have a lovely day!!

&

Keep Creating,

Karen

Supplies Added To Our Shop

We are expanding our Etsy shop to include beautiful lapidary work in jewelry supplies.  To start out we listed a few gemstone cabochons.  We will expand this section very soon. 

Agate

Agate is a semi-precious silica mineral and is a favorite among jewelry makers because of the interesting variation of grain and color.  Polished agate is a wonderful stone that usually includes bands of color and sometimes crystals are present, like in the photo above.  Stones come in so many colors, depending on where it was mined. 

This stone has been used for centuries, there are early recordings of agate mining in Europe dating to the 1400’s. Ancient treasures have been found including bowls, pendants (believed to having healing properties) and vases.  

Some folks love agate for its interesting colors while others believe that its strong connection to the earth gives it the healing properties such as strength, protection and harmony. 

Our beads were created from raw forms of agate, cut, drilled and polished. 

Dinosaur Bone

Dinosaurs were roaming the earth approximately 245 million years ago.  The name dinosaur comes from the Greek work deinos meaning fearfully great and sauros meaning reptile or lizard.  Dino bones are ancient fossilized bones that turned to rock (stones).  To think that these amazing creatures walked the earth millions of years ago and that paleontologists are able to find skeletal remains today just amazes me. 

When asked most gemologists are not sure what part of the world a specific dinosaur bone came from nevertheless these stones are popular among jewelry makers.  Cellular formations within the bone make them interesting to look at and talk about.  Most of the stones on the market today are bone fragments. 

Some believe that fossilized dinosaur bone increases physical energy, communication, healing of broken bones and that is helps increase memory.

Obsidian (Volcanic Glass)

Obsidian, better known as natural glass of volcanic origin, is formed by the rapid cooling of lava.   This is one of my favorite stones.  One of the things I find interesting about obsidian is that some stones are composed of many, many tiny crystalline materials.  The crystals are so closely spaced that they appear as one.  If you read up on obsidian you will learn more about what an interesting mineral this is. 

History buffs know that obsidian was widely used by ancient peoples to make weapons, tools, and even mirrors.  Arrowhead artifacts reveal that this stone is one of the sharpest and hardest.   

Like many gemstones obsidian comes in many colors and properties.  We have Blue Snowflake Obsidian in our shop. 

Some believe that the properties of obsidian are both soothing and grounding.  Healers often believe the specific color of the stone also has specific healing powers. 

This is just a small sample of the many good things to come!  Please stop by periodically to see new additions in shop our shop sections.

Some of the photos published here belong to their respective owners.  

Keep Creating

Karen