Polymer clay and seed beads

I think polymer clay and seed beads are a match made in heaven. They play so nicely together.

I love good gemstone cabochons but they are so expensive and really drive up the price of the pieces I make. The cabochons in the hair pins are gemstones and were expensive so I will have to sell them at a higher price point then I would like. Had I made them with polymer clay I could knock about $10 off the retail price.

Another advantage of using polymer clay is I can create some awesome stone like cabochons with awesome colors and detail for a lot less then I would pay for a natural gemstone. Using my handmade cabochons allows me to spend more money on the high quality crystals and seed beads to give my customer a higher quality product at a reasonable affordable price point.

The necklace in this post is a beautiful example. The cabochon is one that I made with polymer clay,ink,mica and gold leaf; it's full of detail and pretty colors. because the cost to make it wasn't high I was able to use a generous amount of expensive high quality Swarovski crystals and delica seed beads. By making my own cabochon I am able to offer my customer a OOAK necklace at a very reasonable price. It's a win-win situation for both of us.

Fun with accesories

I really like making things that are functional as well as pretty.

I have some craft shows coming up so I have been making things to sell that are moderately priced and that will make great gifts for the upcoming holiday season. I have several nice gift sets made for my bath shop so yesterday I made some sets for my gift shop.

I am trying to decide weather or not to group coordinating pieces together and sell them as a set or offer them as individual items. There are pros and cons for doing it either way. Myself I would like to by the set if I could but I know not everyone feels the same way.

I like the set in the photo the colorful designs on the pieces are made with polymer clay the set includes 1 twist ball point pen,1 pill box key chain and 1 dual mirrored compact.

on my worktable........more pens and pill box key-chains also whipped olive oil soap

Super Bowl Sunday

How do you spend this day? Is your family sporty?

My Son and Husband are sports guys so Super Bowl Sunday is an fun day for them. My Son and his wife and the babies will be coming over tonight for a little Super Bowl party .

Today I am going to do a little house work and a lot of cooking to get ready for tonight. My Hubby Jose has a weird menu made up filled with junk food and beer( ah well it's once a year). So I better get my bootie in gear. I need to start the chocolate and Carmel cupcakes for little Brenden. He's 2 1/2 and he calls them "baby birthday cakes"

I am having a Super Bowl Sale in my http://GingerbellsGifts.etsy.com shop
FREE SHIPPING!!! till midnight
add Super Bowl in the notes to seller and I will refund all shipping costs...

Finding new things

Etsy has a lot of wonderful supply sellers and it is great fun to look through their shops. I have found some awesome things to spice up my polymer clay jewelry.

Lately for me it has been vintage and Victorian styles that have been calling to me. I am also loving antique copper and brass. Today I got a bunch of beautiful copper and brass findings that I will be using for some awesome earrings I have planned.

I found the pretty pendant mounting while shopping around Etsy and built this necklace around it. I made the pearl peach floral beads and strung them with pale peach freshwater pearls. Click on photos to get a better view. I listed it in my shop tonight; http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20201211 . I am getting my spring collection ready for the spring shows and I think this will fit right in if someone doesn't buy it before then.

On my work table now.... earring earrings and more earings....

I'm having a Black Friday- Cyber Monday sale!!

I was thinking that I will be avoiding the Mall this Holiday season and I imagine I won't be the only one. I am busy all week with the Grandkiddos and my shops and craft shows. I just don't have the energy to deal with the crowds. So I will be doing the majority of my shopping on line. I have been seeing some great sales out there so I thought I would offer a big sale in my shops too.

SOOO here are my sales.....

Http://GingerbellsGifts.Etsy.com
FREE SHIPPING on any order
I think that's a pretty good deal if I do say so myself

Http://GingerbellsBathShop.etsy.com
Buy 3 get 1 FREE
FREE SHIPPING on any order totaling $50 or more
That's a great deal because I have a lot of gift sets at great prices so you could do a lot of your gift shopping in one place and save on shipping.

These sales start tonight 11/27 at midnight and run till midnight Monday 12/1

So have fun shopping and I hope you take advantage of my sales, I know I will be shopping cyber space looking for some great bargains.

I love Art Deco

I have been shopping around for beautiful metal mountings to add to my polymer clay jewelry and I found these beautiful copper Art Deco style pieces and I turned them into these pretty earrings. I am very pleased with the final product.

I made the focal cabochons using liquid polymer clay and gold and copper leaf. I think these earrings are very dramatic looking.

I have several other new mounting I have found that I am enjoying working with and will be blogging about them soon and posting them in my Etsy shop in time for holiday gift giving.

Branching out

I have been thinking for some time now about starting an online craft supply shop and I am getting closer to that goal by starting to write a business plan.
There are so many options to consider................
1.] Do I want to hire someone to maintain a website for me or do I want to open it on Etsy?
[pro] Having my own website would be nice because I have complete control.
[con] I would have to start from ground zero with no traffic.
[pro] Etsy has a established crafting traffic. Fees are reasonable and website format is already there.
[con] Lots of competition.

2.] What kinds of supplies do I want to carry...... Specialize in one medium or carry a variety of mediums?

3.] If I had my own website would I offer tutorials for any of mediums carried?

4.] Financing....Small Business loan/grants, low interest loan, 0 interest credit card.

5.] storage of merchandise is no problem I have a huge room lined with shelves ready to go.

These are just a few of the ideas rolling around in my head. I have a huge folder filled with wholesalers and contacts and other specifics.

Dreams are great they keep me motivated..................