I've been featured in another blog!

In my April 11th post, I wrote about sponsoring a give-away for Capitolagirl's "Friday Findings" column. Well, last week when I was checking my Etsy account I had this message waiting for me from one of the winners of that give-away:

by slymagpie profile shop contact

Hi Martha! I won your contest with Capitola Girl, and I just wanted to let you know that I loved the earrings! They're really beautiful and your materials are lovely. I'm off to tell everyone what a talented artist you are on my blog. :) Margaret How cool is that???!!! Plenty, if you're asking me. I'm not sure what part of this posting that I like the most - the part about her liking my earrings or the part about her telling me that she was going to write a post for her blog telling others that she liked my earrings. Really, it's still a toss up for me. So, I sat around all day waiting for the blog to be published. And true to her word, she wrote a nice post about me. If you're anything like me, curiosity will get the best of you and you'll want to read the post. So, here is the link to the her blog that she the little piece she wrote about little ol' me: slymagpie: I won a contest! Thank you Margaret for letting me know that you liked my earrings an for letting others know too! And too my readers, for some reason I couldn't get any pictures to post - but don't fear - I've provided links - just click on them and you'll be taken posts with lots of great pictures.

The first day of my "Dream Life" is today...

Next week I'll be taking a break from my day job (the one that is currently paying the bills) to get ready for my next show on May 10th (see the right side bar for more info). I'll also be working on the show that I am coordinating with friends that will happen this summer the last weekend in July (more information regarding this show is forth-coming). While I'll have lots of work to do next week, I intend to have FUN, FUN, FUN!!! I mean, I'll be living my dream life, which is that of a successful, busy, in demand jewelry artisan. :) I'm one of those people who likes and thrives in "solitude" and know that I would do well if I worked at home. As I write this I'm thinking about the routine I would establish, it would be the perfect combination of work and personal time. I'm one of those people who likes to work in spurts and then take time to recharge my batteries. So, I would set a routine that would be like this:

My schedule for next week (Monday - Friday):

• Rise at 6:00am - 6:30am. Make coffee and drink 2 cups while standing in the kitchen watching the early morning news (Yeah, I got a TV in my kitchen - I like to watch the "Food Network" while cooking or cleaning
• 6:30am -7:00am. Take Bruce for a walk. He's not a very demanding pooch but when he wants to go for a walk he's quietly persuasive and it's best to get such demands out of the way as soon as I can.
• 7:00am (or 7:30am) - 2:00pm. Sit down at jewelry bench. I'll either be working on designs or creating my findings.
  
• 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Take a break or run personal/work related errands
  
• 4:00pm - 5:00pm. Clean up jewelry bench and wrap it up for the day.
• 5:00pm - 9:00pm - Domestic chores and spend time with family.
  

Will I be able to maintain this non-harried schedule? Probably not - only because I'm sure there will be nights when I've got a creative streak where I'll tell my husband that he's on his own for dinner and will work at my bench until all hours of the night. Which will throw off my schedule for the next day. And I'm sure I'll get sucked into watching some daytime TV - so I'm going to avoid the siren song of the BIG TV and the comfortable couch in the living room. My TV daytime TV will be confined to either my kitchen or at my jewelry bench.

So that's my plan.

What else have I been up to? Well, I've been terribly remiss in tending to my shop on Etsy. It hasn't been very busy and truth be told I was avoiding it. Yeah, not the best plan. So, add it to my list for next week: Pay attention to your shop on Etsy!!! This morning, I added more earrings to my shop. Next Sunday, I'll be adding more stock to my shop.

Now I've got to go and get ready. My husband is getting his documentation together to renew his passport. We need to go to the notary today. We're planning a trip to visit his family in England this summer.

I'll be back later.

Until then, Best Regards.

martha

I'm featured in a blog!!!!

Aquamarine 2
Originally uploaded by Dancing Monkey Jewelry

Take a look at the earring to your right - they were featured in a blog today. :) This is very exciting for me. If your curious and want to check it out click on this link: Capitolagirl - it's worth the mouse click to visit. Go on...you know you want to take a look.

How to generate sales in your shop....

So, sales of have been less than robust in my shop. I do alright at the craft shows but it's my goal to do the bulk of my sales on line. To that end, I'm running a special in my Etsy Shop - for the month of April I'm offering 20% off on all items in my shop. Also, as an added bonus, I'm offering 20% off for life to my first three customers.

Would that offer entice you to purchase from me? Does it pique your curiosity enough to see what I'm offering? If not, what would do it for you? Now is your turn to change the direction of an up and coming shop. :)

For those of you who are allowing your curiosity to get the best of you, here's a link to my store on Etsy:

http://www.dancingmonkeyjewelry.etsy.com


Best Regards,

Martha

Prehnite Teardrops Earrings...

Prehnite Teardrops
Originally uploaded by Dancing Monkey Jewelry

More jewelry waiting to be posted in my Etsy shop.

Faceted teardrop shaped prehnite beads dangle from hand formed fine silver French ear wires. The silver has been oxidized and have lovely warm patina.

Triple Treat Earrings

Triple Treat
Originally uploaded by Dancing Monkey Jewelry

More jewelry that I am planning on posting in my Etsy shop.

Three white freshwater pearls are stack neatly one upon another. They are dangling from hand formed French ear wires and have been oxidized - which contrasts nicely with the whiteness of the pearls.

Finally! Some Jewlery Photos to Show You!!!

I've been busy with my jewelry - believe it or not. Matter of fact, I'll be taking Thursday and Friday off from work to get ready for my next show at Chop Suey in Seattle. Tonight, I took another class from my bead shop - The Bead Factory. I'm thinking I'll take a couple of photos of the project that I worked on and will post them at a later date.

So, here are some photos of the jewelry that I'll be listing on Etsy soon. I'm not sure if I'll post before my next show or after my next show. I'll guess I'll do what time allows.

And now for the latest creations to come out of the Dancing Monkey Jewelry Studios (drum roll, please!)...


These are my new favorites - round aquamarine beads, hand-made fine silver fused rectangles and handmade fine silver ear wires.




Aqua Terra Jasper (aka: Impression Jasper) beads, sterling silver daisy spacers, and hand made ear wires.










Prehnite briolettes dangle from oxidized fine silver circles, hand made fine silver ear wires.







Pink freshwater pearls dangle from rustic fused fine silver triangles, hand made ear wires.





These are my edited photos. Now all I have to do is download these photos to Etsy and come up with a lyrical description of the earrings. Then I have about 100 more photos of jewelry that I have to edit (mostly cropping and resizing) before I can list them on Etsy and my icraft.ca shop. I can't believe how much work it is to sell jewelry on-line! However, if your curiosity gets the best of you, you can mosey over to my flickr site and see more of my jewelry photography -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancingmonkeyjewelry

Also, I still have to edit my photos from my last craft show - they're huge and take a long time to download. What will happen, most likely, is that the photos from my last show will be displayed from my next show (this Sunday).

I've got a lot of work to do between now and this weekend. Good lord, I had no idea how much work this would be. I'm off to bed.

Sweetheart Wine & Chocolate Tasting & Art Market - Greenbank Farm, Whidbey Island

I'm having a bit of a panic attack. My first BIG show is this weekend and I'm not fully prepared. Some of my worries are:

1. I don't know how much traffic to expect. I don't know how much inventory I'll need. If I do run out of jewelry on the first day I won't be able to go home at night and create more jewelry. Why? This is an out of town show and I'm staying over night. Of course there is a flip side to this "problem" - will I actually sell anything? I don't want to make a bad impression on the organizers of the show. I want to come across as a organized and professional vendor who creates wonderful jewelry. Not some sloppy un-organized mess who creates suprisingly wonderful jewelry. You never know, I might want to return to sell at this venue if me, my jewelry, and the farm are a good fit.
   

Here's what I have to do tonight to be comfortabley prepared:

1. Stop by the bank to get money to make change (how much do I need?)


2. Go to Target to buy a hand mirror so that my customers can see what my jewelry looks like on them.


3. Go to Office Depot and buy post cards to that I can make coupons to stuff in my shopping bags.


4. Design said coupons.


5. I still have 8 pairs of earrings to make. I've got to finish 5 necklaces and make the charms for my wine glass charms.


6. Do laundry and pack the overnight bag for me and my husband.


7. Pack up my display and jewelry.


8. Print off the state sales tax list to use for tomorrow.


9. Find my license - I don't know if I need this but it's good to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.


10. Print off the ferry schedule so that we can time our arrival just so.


11. Find time to sleep.

I'm sure I'll be able to pull it off and I'll know what to do for my next show. Below is information on the show. Despite all my panic and worry - I'm actually looking forward to going to the show. I really like Whidbey Island - and I'll have easy access to wine (and chocolate).

"Sweetheart Wine & Chocolate Tasting & Art Market Wine and chocolate tasting will be featured throughout the weekend at the Greenbank Farm Market inside the historic 1904 Barn. The event is scheduled from 10am-5pm on February 16-18. Bring your sweetheart and experience the varieties of wine and chocolate, as you taste wines of the Puget Sound area paired with truffles, Belgian chocolates and fudge. Stroll through the market of handcrafts, art photography and gourmet foods created by local artisans to find special gifts for your Valentine. Enjoy the charming atmosphere of the market in the barn making your visit to the farm a sweet destination. For more information contact the events Manager at 360/678-7710 or email events@greenbankfarm.com"

Address:

Greenbank Farm - Whidbey Island
765 Wonn RoadSuite #A201
Greenbank, WA 98253
(360) 678-7700