Teach Me Wednesday's: How to Make a Treasury on Etsy....Super-Fast

I'm amazed by how many people comment and tell me that they have no clue how to make a treasury in Etsy!

It's super-easy and super-fast and I'm going to show you how.

All you'll need is your Etsy account and a little thing called "Microsoft Tabs". (I think Firefox uses tabs also.)

1. Sign in to Etsy and scroll down until you reach the heading "Treasury". Right-click on it and scroll down until you see "Open in New Tab". It will take you to the main treasury page where you will click on "Create a List."

2. After you've done that you'll be directed to a blank treasury list. Now you'll need to pick a title. I chose something about lemons and limes. (bright lemon yellow and limey green obviously being the focus of this treasury.)

3. Go back to the main Etsy page that you just tabbed away from and put in your search parameters in the search bar. Just start hunting around for things that you want to put in your treasury. Every time you find a new piece, do that "right-click-to-tab" thing.

4. See how many tabs I've got going here? You'll need 16 items for your treasury, so count your tabs.

5. Now that you've got all your items, it's time to fill your treasury. Go to your first item. (I've chosen my Lemons and Limes bracelet just for kicks) Click on the address bar (it's in blue below), right-click and copy the entire URL (that's the address of the item's page).

6. Now go back to the treasury and click on one of the blanks below where the picture should be. Right-click and click on "copy". Hit 'OK' and watch as your item appears.

7. Do this 15 more times until you've filled up your treasury!

A good treasury takes into account a couple of things:

a. Balance- if you're using more than one color, make sure it's not lopsided and that the colors are balanced.

b. Variety - I wouldn't put all scarves or bags in my treasury (normally). Look for a variety of items.

c. Composition - Make sure all the photos have the same "feel" or that they complement each other. Those super-sweet romantic photos generally don't look so good beside the barn photos.

8. Before you hit 'save', make sure and add a bunch of tabs to describe what your treasury is so that people can find it, and also add a little description.

You're done!

Challenge yourself to see how many treasuries you can create, or try to create one a week.

The best part is that you can use any theme you'd like!

Here's the link to Lemons and Limes in the Summertime.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your new-found treasury-making skills!

MissFickleMedia Monday

I was doing a little organizing the other day and came across my entire stash of components from Shannon over at MissFickleMedia.

Now, if you're like me you probably also have a stash of her ever-so-lovely metal pieces just waiting to become super special pieces of jewelry.

So I started thinking....

What if I challenged myself to include one of her components in every piece that I create this week?

Let me show you some of my stash:

First up, a couple of hammered pendant hoops in golden saffron:

A copper leaf big enough to be a pendant:

A circular pendant hoop (mine has her rusty red patina on it):

A couple of deep indigo blue connectors:

And last but not least, two large connectors that would probably be best if used as pendants (or maybe even a brooch...hhmmm....):

So, here's my challenge:

To incorporate into every piece that I create this week a MissFickleMedia component in some way, shape, form or fashion.

No minimum amount of pieces, even if it's just one...it just has to be MissFickleMedia.

It's a quick challenge, kind of like a throwdown.

I'll show you what I've accomplished on Friday (Margie and Me on Saturday)

You can see all of Shannon's pieces here in her shop.

How about you? Ready to work through that MissFickleMedia stash?

See ya' on Friday!

How about it? You in?

Artisan Clay Design Team and Studio Saturday

Okay, I totally owe Kristie an apology for not getting my design team piece up yesterday, but let's just say yesterday is over (thank goodness) and we'll keep moving on to today!

Sound good?

Okay, so, Kristie's challenge this month was her beautiful smoke-fired beads and I must admit I was a little stumped when I got this chunky, perfectly round beauty in the mail, but...not one to be outdone...I decided to go with the colors from the current Art Bead Scene challenge.

So, with that in mind, I created a little beaded bead for the center of the circle and strung it together with some sari silk in a buttery yellow, aventurine rounds and crazy lace agate.

I tried to go assymetrical, as you can see I've put the little flower clasp on the side.

It's a bit different than what I'm used to and definitely more organic, but I love Kristie's big chunky bead.

I also created some pieces earlier in the week for the shop.

I LOVE how this one turned out. The center is an oval from Shannon of MissFickleMedia and I just started beading off of the center with no real plan in mind.

The result is this little fairy portal surrounded by bright seed beads.

The weaving is realy tight, there are no gaps and it's just perfect.

I call it Through the Looking Glass and it's in the shop.

I also wove another version of La Catedral. The Teal version sold last month to an extremely lucky customer. I wish a picture really could show you how great these bangles feel when you wear them, but unfortunately it just doesn't.

They have such an amazing weight and because the czech beads are faceted, they catch the light when you move....ah, well, let's just say, I rarely make anything twice (Beader's ADD), but I've already purchased another set of czech glass rounds to make this again in a different colorway.

I've currently got the Royal Purple and Garnet versions in the shop.

Oh, and if you're a beader and want to create one, the tutorial is here also.

That's all for this week. It's slim I know, but I've been working with metal on and off all week so the beading kind of gets shoved a little to the side.

Oh, and I've moved Margie and Me to next week, so the reveal will be July 2nd.

Here are the palettes in case you've forgotten.

Oh, and be sure to visit the rest of Kristie's team and see what we've all come up with!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Wednesday's News

Have you gotten your issue of Stringing yet?

My design Toggle Play is in this issue and it features a great big clasp from Elaine Ray!

I hope you'll check it out.

Also, here's a little sneak peek of what you'll see in the newsletter which goes out today!

I hope you're signed up!

(You'll also find some great info in there as a follow-up to last week's color issue!)

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!

Monday's Materials

Seed beads....

Sterling Silver....

Indian Glass....

More Seed Beads...

Loooong Bugle Beads...

Mixed Dyed Agate...

Bright Blue Painted Wooden Tubes...

These are just a few of the goodies that I added to my Destash Shop this morning!

All of them were purchased and loved back when I first started beading and before I had really found my style and asthetic.

They're part of a story and a journey of how I came to create what I create now.

I hope they'll become part of your story.

Also, if you purchase some goodies today, I'll throw in a special beady gift...ya' know...just to help in the journey.

You can see the rest of the goodies here.

Thank You

....for your sweet and encouraging words yesterday.

25% off everything in my shop

today only

use this code at checkout:

MUCHTHANKS

cutest little thank you card found here

Studio Saturday: An explanation missing work...

I know the past couple of weeks have been slim on new work, and I wanted to give you an explanation as to why it appears I have come to the creative end.

It's actually the exact opposite that happens to be true.

I have instead begun a new beginning.

It all started in the middle of May when I took a class at my local bead store where we used copper washers, mica sheets and scrapbook paper to make itty bitty dangly charms that could be used in bracelets, necklaces, whatever...

The teacher was Melissa Manley and it wasn't until I actually arrived at the class that I realized that she was the artist whose pieces I had admired in Belle Armoire.

The class was great and I learned the basics about riveting, texturing metal and how to get that earthy dark patina on copper.

I wasn't looking to do anything more than just add a little flair to the body of work that I had already created, but after seven hours of hitting things with a hammer I was hooked.

Melissa offered to take me on as a student and once a week since the beginning of June, I've been working with this very accomplished artist and we've added fire to the hammers and pressed copper and rolled brass... and etched as well.

So this is what has come out of it since then and I'm finding ways to keep the old methods that I love while simultaneously combining them with the methods that I'm falling in love with.

In this (very large) pendant, a perfect piece of Red Creek Jasper finds itself encircled in a fairy ring of tiny stones and mounted onto a heavy sheet of copper that I've sawed out, textured and antiqued.

I think what I've fallen in love with the most is the weight, the heaviness of the metal against my skin.

This one was plucked from an ancient mural in Persia. The pendant is two sheets of hammered brass that I've riveted together with spacers to leave enough room to mount a beadwoven persian tile between the layers.

I created the shape for this one as well and sawed out two sheet of brass to create the outside of the pendant.

Oh, and I made another Flaming June. This one is a tad different and all for me. I decided I needed intense rouge in my wardrobe and it happened to match a recent dress purchase.

Right now I'm just playing with copper and brass, partially afraid to play with silver because of its value but also finding myself rather enamored with the colors of antiqued and polished copper.

And also enamored with the learning. It's stretching my creativity and skills (and muscles) and I keep coming up with more and more ideas as I work. Constantly wanting to add new shapes and finishes and finding a way to seamlessly transition from metal to bead.

I hope you're learning as well this summer, trying a new skill or maybe a new color or even a new medium.

Creativity is a muscle...the more you flex, the stronger it will become.

Enjoy your weekend, enjoy the slow progression of warmer weather and I hope you find some time to be creative and create something new.

Oh, oh...and thank you for your comments on my tutorial on Wednesday. I'm so glad that it was useful to you and I hope it makes your making a little easier! :)

Teach Me Wednesday: How to Cheat on your Wrapped Loops

First off, sorry about Monday.

I know I promised y'all inspiration Monday for Margie and a coherent entry about kits and "of the month" clubs, but Monday turned out to be a little hectic and Tuesday didn't dissapoint either, so I just decided to keep moving and I'm back with this week's tutorial:

Making Wrapped Loops.

Specifically making wrapped loops in tight spaces.

Now, I know what you're thinking....

all you have to do is make a bunch of wrapped loops and then slide a jump ring through them, close the jump ring, and your done!

But, what if you want some dimensionality? What if you want wrapped loops hanging at different levels, or you want to attach them to a connector or piece of beadwork that you can't open and close?

I ran into the same problem, and came up with (what I think) is a clever solution.

Now, it may be that everyone else in the world does this, and I'm just the last one to catch on, if that's true...oops!

But, no one told me, so I figured I'd spare you the re-invention of the wheel.

First up, the basics of making a wrapped loop:

(if you already know how to do this, scroll down to the step labeled "The Good Stuff")

1. You'll need:
a headpin
a bead
a seed bead (if the above bead has a hole that's larger than the headpin)

chain nose pliers (2 pairs)

round nose pliers

wire cutters

(ignore the watch face for now, we'll use him later)

2. String your seed bead and your big bead onto your headpin.

3. Use the chain nose pliers to make a bend in your wire about a 1/4" from the top of your bead.

4. Use the round nose pliers to make a loop in the pin just above where you've created the bend.
(Do this by rotating the wire around the pliers, not the other way around.)

5. Use one pair of pliers to grip the loop you just created and use the other pair to grip the tail wire sticking out from the side.

6. Wrap the wire around the 1/4" piece just above the bead. Try to make your loop as tight and as close as possible.

7. Use the wire cutters to snip the end as close as you can and then squeeze the end to the base wire to make a clean wrap.

8. The Good Stuff:

Take your wire cutters and snip your loop as close as you possibly can to the wrapped portion of your loop.

9. Voila! You now have a perfectly wrapped loop that opens and closes like a jump ring!

This means that you can attach dangles to anything...closed connectors, beadwork, soldered chain...you name it.

The great thing is that because you're not dealing with working against another component, you can make a gorgeous wrapped loop and then add it to your work!

Now, I will say this: The whole upside to using a wrapped loop is that it creates a closed loop that can support a little more weight, and won't allow anything to slip out of it, so don't use this technique if you're going to put a lot of weight on the loop, but it works great for fringey dangles.

Okay, remember the watch face?

We're going to use him to make what I call Pinwheel Dangles.

Remember the little pinwheels from elementary school, where you had the pinwheel on a straight stick and it faced you, not the sky like a flower?

This is the same concept.

I used it in my Meet me at 7pm necklace to make dangles out of the little clock faces. I wanted them to face out, not down.

Here's what I did:

1. Make your wrapped loop like we did above in steps 1-7, but leave a tiny smidge of room between the wraps and the focal bead, maybe 2mm.

2. Grasp the bead or finding in one hand and the wrapped loop with your pliers and bend up! Easy as pie. Now you have a dangle that faces out and you can show off your watch faces, or flat spacers or those lovely lampworked discs that the glass artists work so hard on.

I hope these help and I should warn you that making dangles is addictive.

You're going to find yourself fighting the urge to put dangley fringes on everything.

Have a great Wednesday!

Studio Saturday: Ole!

My newsletter subscribers have already had the chance to see these beauties and they got a much more detailed description of the inspiration behind them and the color palettes, so I won't go into it again.

But this is what I finished this week.

I call this first one Flamenco Fan.

Can't you see a Flamenco dancer when you look at this? Fan waving, feet flashing as her hands keep time to the music?

It's a petite little necklace, and so I thought that it would be kind of understated, but I've worn it twice since I made it and have received compliments from random strangers both times.

What's the base?

A hammered and antiqued copper washer that's been sawn in half by moi! Yep, metal....and it turned out great.

It's here if you'd like to see more close-up shots of that washer.

This second one also had an interesting color inspiration (which I'll spare my subscribers the repeat) and I also used one of those copper washers.

It's a really dainty bead embroidered pendant with a dyed agate focal, but I suspended the whole pendant from the washer to give it a little more length and interest and then I handmade the entire chain for the necklace.

I call this one Cobalt Orange.

Last but not least, I have a couple of rejects!

Well, magazine rejects, I still love them!

They're both strung pieces, no beadweaving at all in either of them.

This first has kind of a dark edgy color scheme.

Deep teal beads and gunmetal gray in lengths of handmade chain suspended between two dyed gemstone beads.

The second one I created with vegetables in mind. A summer vegetable garden loaded with bright orange carrots sporting leafy tops.

The two little bright green beads on the end are mosaic turquoise and I used a garden-inspired clasp to finish it off. It's a gardener's bracelet and it has just the right amount of movement from the little wrapped dangles between each larger bead.

I haven't put either of these in the shop yet as I haven't had time to take Etsy-friendly photos.

(I call these my gallery photo shoots!)

But, I'm planning on listing them probably tomorrow.

If you'd like either of these, please let me know and I'd be happy to reserve the listing for you!

Oh, and thank you, thank you for your feedback on my question from yesterday. It helped immensely and I have some ideas that I need to work out that I'll tell you more about on Monday.

Also, if you signed up for the newsletter and aren't receiving it, please check your Spam folder, sometimes unknowns will get blocked by your e-mail provider!

Have a great weekend guys!