What I'm working on...

Its been a good week, lots of fun happenings and lots of time to create. My other half was in the USA on business all week, which logically should result in me having less time, as I pick up "his jobs" and run the kids around more often. But somehow it doesn't work that way. Which I must admit I kind of like. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that :)

I picked out a few special pieces of glass from my collection this week, gorgeous colours that were sick of sitting in a bottle on the shelf, waiting to be framed and adorned. The piece above came from one of the Hawaiin Islands-a couple of summers ago I traded some finished pieces of jewelry for sea glass gathered in Hawaii by  a gentlemen from Lunenburg. The piece above is a beautiful orange red with a little star on top, so very like a sunset.

These little earrings were forged from silver wire, and are meant to be leaves, although they turned out a little less leaf-like than I had in mind. Next time I will include a vein in the centre of the leaf.

I'm still in love with brass, and it photographs beautifully, contrasting with the aqua glass.

And finally, my favourite, a calla lily hand forged from sterling silver cradles a drop of brilliant red sea glass, this one from a Nova Scotia beach. Its been fun making the flowers, and I plan to do lots more botanical jewelry over the next few months. Here's hoping this week will be a good one for us all!

Cookielicious

My kitchen smells like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. And its 10 degrees outside.  And the laundry is hanging on the line. And all is right with the world. Except for the big pile of receipts waiting to be filed for income tax. But I'm pretending its not there right now. And focusing on the cookies instead. This is a great cookie recipe, just one bowl and it makes 24 good size cookies.

2/3 c margarine or butter

1/2 c brown sugar (packed)

1/2 c granulated sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 pkg chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt to same bowl and mix these dry ingredients together lightly before stirring into the creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Yum.

Busy with wholesale

I've been busy with wholesale orders this past month, and will be right into the spring, which is lovely as its one of the reasons I was able to leave my regular job, but between that and the Farmer's Market, its difficult to stock my etsy shop.  For fellow crafters who live in the Maritime provinces, consider applying to the Atlantic Craft Trade Show  for February 2010. This year's show was great, very well run, and we received lots of orders. On top of that, we met fellow crafters and learned tons from the seminars ACTS ran for the artisans. I'll stop gushing now, but it really was fantastic, and can help you take your business to the next level.

After a couple of weeks of not listing anything new in my etsy shop, I'm finally able to get a few things photographed. Should have them listed by the weekend.

Handmade Markeplace

 

I just finished reading this great new book by Kari Chapin, How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally and Online. Its illustrated by Emily Martin of Black Apple etsy fame. I wish  this resource had been around a few years ago- its absolutely packed with tips and knowledge an indie crafter needs to be successful, and covers everything from marketing basics, social media, craft fairs (even a packing list!), to blogging, selling in brick and mortar stores, and basic business practices. Its an easy read, with wisdom and real life advice straight from other crafters. This is the kind of knowledge it takes years to accumulate if you're trying to do it on your own. Whether you're brand new at selling your work, or a seasoned crafter, you'll find this book invaluable.