My First Front Page.... Hopefully Not My Last!

I can't believe I missed it, but about a week ago a piece of jewelry I have for sale on Etsy (middle picture, top row) was featured in a Treasury created by another Etsy jewelry designer, JennyBunny, and landed on the front page of Etsy. Fortunately, another user (monaraebeads.etsy.com) was kind enough to send me a congratulatory message. Otherwise, I'd never have known. Etsy is a wonderful community of very giving, thoughtful artists!

Getting on Etsy's front page is a big deal in Etsyland! To be in someone's Treasury is a real compliment. It means the curator somehow came across an item in your shop and liked the photo enough to use it when they had a chance to incorporate it into their Treasury. I've never attempted to create a Treasury myself. In the first place, they are very hard to come by as only a limited number can be created and posted at any given time, and it looks like it would take time, patience and of course talent, to make a good one. To see what I'm talking about, go to http://www.etsy.com/treasury.php and check it out for yourself. To see the current front page Treasury, go to Etsy.com.

Treasuries are picked by Etsy staffers to appear on their front page for some limited length of time. Unfortunately, not all of them make it. When it does, it gives all of the sellers in the Treasury free advertising and exposure, but most importantly of course, it provides that oh-so-coveted 15 seconds of, well, not 'fame' exactly, but a sense of affirmation that what you're creating is appreciated by other artists. Yes, that is a very big deal!

Many thanks to JennyBunny and Mona Rae Beads! Oh, and to Etsy, too!

This Never Gets Old!

I seem to have a real appetite for apatite lately! The beautiful aqua colored stone is definitely a favorite of mine, and I love the name: apatite. (Reminds me it's time for a snack!) I made the bracelet on the left the other day and oxidized all the sterling silver components because I just love the contrast of the dark, gun metal gray with the bright aqua of the apatite.


Another huge favorite of mine is sapphire. The earrings on the right (also made with oxidized sterling silver) fade from light to dark, and are more heavily clustered at the top than at the bottom, so they fade visually in both respects. Sapphire is a little more costly than some other gemstones, and having just a small supply to work with makes the process of creating even more of a joy.

The sapphires in these earrings are tiny, too, only about 2.5m. They are like little droplets of water in my hands while I'm wrapping the wire on each one.

Unearthing Inspiration

This past weekend I've thought a lot about inspiration. I've been away for a short vacation to the scenic Sierra Nevada's near Yosemite, an absolutely gorgeous area of California, and one that is, fortunately, not battling wildfires right now.

I know that some people purposely set out to "get inspired". They take walks through the woods or a park, stroll along the shore, go to museums and galleries, garden, meditate, go to Paris.... So, before I left for my mini-vacation I thought, oh good, time away from my usual surroundings to spend contemplating among the pines and redwoods, get my creative juices flowing again.

Hm. Didn't happen. I guess I can't purposely set out to get inspired. My problem is that I over-think everything. But tomorrow morning, when I open my industrial-looking, gray metal drawers to paw through all the ziplock baggies containing all of my beautiful gemstones and beads, my mind will reel with design ideas that will tumble over each other in a torrent. I'll have to force myself to slow down and focus, breath deeply and relax. Otherwise the excitement, and, yes, the inspiration that I will feel when I come face-to-face with these raw materials will overwhelm me. How unpoetic.

Think of all the money I'll save on vacations that I can spend on beads!

So, what's right with the world?

I've met some amazing people online thru my Etsy store, from all over the world. There are days, like yesterday, when I get such nice emails from my "customers" (they feel more like friends) that I'm practically glowing by the end of the day.

You know the old saying, "It's nice to be nice to the nice". Or something like that.... By the way, there's a whole lot of 'nice' going on in Australia!

I love the bumper sticker that says "practice random acts of kindness". If more people did that instead of practicing some version of road rage (life rage, consumer rage, get-out-of-my-face rage) it could possibly spiral out of control into a veritable lovefest! Well, that may be an exaggeration, but without a doubt it would have a positive domino effect. I'm trying to be one of the dominoes in that line up.