New Stones

I got an order of stones in last week and can't wait to do something with them.  These beauties came from Eagle Gems on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/Eaglegems).

 I'm trying to decide whether to wait for my class to start or just jump in and start playing now.  There may be a little of each.

Aren't they pretty!

Hope all of you in the US had a great holiday weekend and remembered to stop a moment and remember those who served for our freedom.

Things are slow

Boy are they.  I have not had a sale for over a month, if not longer.  I admit, I haven't really done much on  Etsy, either, so that may be the cause.

I am starting a class at my local community college on June 1, so maybe I will have some inspiration after that.  I am really excited to get some real training.  Hope I don't have too many bad habits to break!

In the mean time, I am job hunting.  Anyone looking for a bookkeeper with an AAS in Information Technology?

Everyone says blogs need pictures, so I present another picture of the grandsons.  Aren't they darling?



Hope to have something interesting later this week.

May Synchroblog - Words Have Meaning

The Artists Synchroblog (May) – The Artists Synchroblog is a group of bloggers who post every other month on the same topic, sharing our experience or perspective. On alternate months we undertake a Pinterest Project where we each take inspiration from a pinterest picture, create something (art, a meal, a DIY project, etc) and then post about it.  The theme for May is "WORDS HAVE MEANING “A quote to live by/favorite saying”"

I love this saying and try to live by it.  It reminds us that listening is more important than speaking in most situations.  It is impossible to learn anything new if the only sounds come from your mouth. (Another saying I try to live by).

In jewelry news, still working on the narrow stacking rings. (Another Lesson Learned)

Also, since my plans on Sunday to see Iron Man 3 with my son got changed, we will be going on Thursday night.  I can't wait!

Please visit the other bloggers this month:

http://amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com

http://www.islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/

http://www.wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca/blog

www.elenorbuffington.blogspot.com

http://doxallodesigns.blogspot.com

http://lesliervillarreal.blogspot.com

http://www.journeyinjewelry.com/blog/My-Journey-in-Jewelry

http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/

http://marikach.blogspot.com/

www.createrecklessly.com

http://design.kcjewelbox.com

www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com

http://shaktipajdesigns.com/blog/

http://silversmithblog.com/

http://stonezjewelry.com/blog/

My daughter gives me the best presents.

Not a lot of time for jewelry this weekend.  The reason:

My daughter gives me the best presents.  On my birthday in 2009, she gave me my first grandson.

 Liam Riley  October 2010 and May 2013

This is my Mother's Day gift this year.  Grandson number two.

Landon James May 12, 2013

Thanks Kate.  I love you.

Another Lesson Learned

Although I haven't made a lot of sales, I definitely have a best seller.  It is the black onyx ring shown below.

Narrow Black Onyx Stacking Ring

I have sold 4 of these rings, out of the 9 total, and it has been favorited 78 times, out of 221 total favorites.  Obviously, people like this ring.  You can also get this ring with a 4mm moonstone, which is my 2nd best seller and second in favorites.  

So, what do I do?  I totally go away from this style ring and start listing rings on rectangular, wider bands, like those in the last post (Experiments in Photography).  I have not sold one of the wider band rings with the small stones.

I had the AHA! moment this morning and spent this afternoon making new narrow stacking rings.  I am going to make one for each stone, since that was last week's lesson.  Hope to have them photographed and listed next week.

In other news, my son is taking me to see Iron Man 3 for Mother's Day. (Okay, he's 14, so I am making him go to see Iron Man 3 with me, but I tried to make it sound good.)  My daughter, her husband and my grandson spent a couple of days with us this week.  She is due with grandson #2 at the end of this month and thought she had gone into labor early.  Our house is 10 minutes from the hospital, compared to the 45 minutes from their house, so they stayed here.  I really enjoyed having them around.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day!

Experiments in Photography

As I said on Thursday, I am in the process of rephotographing my jewelry for Etsy.  I have been looking all over the web for tips on taking pictures, but most sites apply to Digital SLR cameras, which I don't have.  I do have a decent camera, a Fujifilm Finepix S1800Fujifilm Finepix S1800.  It has performed well in the past. 

I have a light box to use, and I am trying different backdrops.  So far, I think I like the black best.  I don't like using the available black velvet displays available, the black looks too harsh to me, so I tried using a neoprene tablet case.  I think it looks pretty good, but I will keep trying other objects.

                           

                                    

Stacking Ring with 4mm Lapis on Sterling Band                                               Under the Sea! Stacking Ring Set

I do adjust the balance and contrast in Photoshop, but don't really have a lot of experience with the program.  I don't want to do too many adjustments because I don't want people to think the items don't look good on their own.  Any adjustments I make are to make the object look like it really does.

I'm also still looking for articles with good advice for us folks that don't have DSLR cameras, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Cutting Corners

I'm guilty.  I was trying to save time and materials, but I think it backfired on me.  I have some beautiful new stones, but haven't sold a one.  

I thought it would be fine to place stones in the bezel for pictures without closing it around the stone or sizing it.  See the photos above for examples.  The rings look ok, but not great (we will get to the quality of the photos later.)  I put a note with each listing explaining that the ring the buyer purchased would have a properly set stone and would not look like this.

I forgot how important the photograph is for online shopping.  That is the only impression that the buyer gets, so it has to be perfect.  Excuses can not be given in the description.  The consumer probably never even got to the description to see the excuse.

Lesson learned.  I am in the process of making a separate ring for each of the small stones I list, then I will take new pictures.  

I'm trying to avoid doing the same with the larger stones.  What do you think, should I redo them all?

While I am at it, I am trying to get the best pictures possible, so I am reading a lot of different articles.  I will let you know what conclusions I come to about pictures next time.

In other news, I signed up for 'The Artists Synchroblog'. It's where bloggers 'synch' up and write on a common topic on a set date, linking to all the other bloggers participating.  Sounds like fun!