Big Birthday Bash Sale & Charmed!

First I want to share the "charmed" portion of tonight's blog. Then I'll share all the juicy sale info with you.

This week AJDJSS is having a "Charmed" promotion. We are promoting charms and jewelry made using charms by our guild members! On the guild blog there is an article on charms and more. So please take a moment and check it out!

Tomorrow is my birthday. To celebrate I will be having a sale in my Artfire Studio, WillowWalker Designs through the month of April. I have reduced my prices by 25% for my birthday! As you know I have been adding a lot of items to my studio and am in the process of adding a bunch more too. There are lots of nummy goodies waiting for their forever homes!

Picture Marathon

I finally had enough energy to go take all those pictures I've been putting off....Twelve pendants, 10 pairs of earrings, over 200 pictures and an hour and a half later I was done. Of course now I still have to load them all to my computer and then edit them. I have decided to wait until tomorrow to do that, then I will start listing them.

Less than 48 hours until the start of my 'Big Birthday Bash Sale" in my Artfire Studio!

Gloomy Day

Today was an "interesting" day. Found a pocketknife to replace the one that I broke yesterday-YAY. Delivered the Marketplace in good time, another "yay". Yet I'm still in a mood for a pity party-bother......maybe the gloomy, rainy weather contributed? A bit to do with whatever made me feel like I was catching a cold? Something in the air? Who knows, but I'm not the only one. Quite a few of my friends have also had a blah, yuck day like mine.

Late Spring Cold-Ugh

Not too much exciting happening here today. Just coming down with a cold. I'm all stuffed up with a runny nose and woozy head. No ambition or what not. IF I'm up to it later this evening I'll try to get some more pictures taken. I did get an additional four pendants wrapped this morning.

New Pendants All Listed!

I listed all those pretty pendants that I shared yesterday in my Artfire studio today! I do have seven more pairs of earrings and nine more pendants that I need to photograph. Once I've done that and edited the pictures I'll be able to get those listed too.

Upcycling all these older cabs I've really been noticing how much my glasswork has improved. I can really see the improvement. Mostly in the uniformity of the thickness of the cab. In the past I tried too hard to get to much out of the fused glass slab, leading to uneven thickness of the cab. Now I sacrifice quantity for quality. I also am learning other little tricks too..like making sure I use a fine enough grinding bit so there isn't any little chips out of the back edges. The backs soften but don't smooth out completely being flat against the kiln shelf.

One of these days I'd like to play with the beveling grinder dad has tucked away. One I think it would be a great way to even out the worst of the old cabs. Two I think it would also be a great way to thin out a really thick cab. Since the way it is set up it is basically a flat grinding bit. I could grind them down until they are level or thinner as desired. Then with a finer grit I could clean them and put them back into the kiln for a fire polishing. And eventually I think I would like to bevel the edges on some of my cabs. IF I have enough patience that is. Dad tried it a bit, but said he found it very tedious .

SneaK Peek of Upcoming Pendants

Here's a sneak peek at all the pendants I finished yesterday. You will notice that five of these pendants have 22K gold images on them and one does not. The black oval pendant with large polka dots is an actual cast glass pendant. That is why it has the matte sides. Now I just need to start listing these in my studio! Remember my bragging about being caught up with all the completed earrings? Ummm, apparently I lied. Evidently a case of out of sight out of mind... Sitting on my workbench, downstairs in the studio, where I take my pictures lays the other six pairs of earrings I have left to photograph. slaps head-DOH! It was so late and I was in a hurry so I left them there. (for now) Also I need to let you know that the final countdown to the "Big Birthday Bash" sale started yesterday. Six more days until the First and then the sale will on. What sort of sale prices/deals/specials will I have??? I'm still working on it and you'll just have to wait until the big day before I'm telling. It will be a birthday surprise.

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SW Designs-Featured AJDJSS Artist

Today I am doing another featured Artfire artist from Artfire Jewelry Design & Jewelry Supply Shop Guild (AJDJSS for short). This week's featured artist is Stacy of SWDesigns. As you can see creates lovely pieces. I love the necklace! Stacy has a variety of styles to choose from in her Artfire studio. Not only does she carry these stunning sparkly pieces, but she also has earthy, southwestern and other fun designs too. Stacy has a little something for everyone no matter your style.

How did you get into creating jewelry?

Several years ago, a good friend wanted to modernize a few pieces of her jewelry. We went to the local craft store to find some new beads, charms or pendants to use. I fell in love with all the different styles, shapes and colors of the beads and gems available.

At first, I began making jewelry for myself and daughters to co-ordinate with specific outfits or holidays. I really enjoyed this and they turned out well. I received so many requests to make similar items for friends and family, that I began making earrings and bracelets as gifts and for donations for school fundraisers. Last year, I read about Artfire in one of my beading magazines, and decided to try selling on-line.

Do you have a favorite style, technique or materials?

I love working with crystals, pearls and gemstones. The variety of shapes and colors allow you to customize and create all kinds of looks for any occasion or everyday wear.

I love trying out different beading techniques. I enjoy the challenge and it's a great way to keep jewelry styles fresh. Recently I've been crochet beading, and my crystal hearts were made using bead weaving.

What would you do if you won a thousand dollars?

Spend it on my family, at church and on house maintenance.

What other crafts or hobbies are you into?

I love to cook and garden. I've been teaching my children to cook since they were toddlers and it's been amazing to see them develop their own cooking style, favorite dishes, etc.

My garden is more of a cut flower garden, but I've had success growing some herbs.

Do you have a favorite color or color combination?

I love working with the colors of the Fall : harvest gold, burgundy, burnt orange, dark green.