"Oh NO! Someone’s Copied My Work!!!" by Lexi Erickson

http://lexiericksondesigns.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/oh-no-someones-copied-my-work/

^^^ There's the link to the article. :)

http://zenithjade.etsy.com/

A Day of Jewelry Selling on Etsy, Alzheimers, Jilly's Bead Posse, ++!

A neat infographic on selling jewelry on Etsy! (Here's the original post with additional information: http://www.beadinggem.com/2012/03/day-of-jewelry-selling-on-etsy.html).

I thought this was too cool not to share! *grins*

Also, a neat article from the same source on a jewelry-making world traveler:

Esfera Jewelry - A Traveling Jewelry Store

I've been busy making new things today! Some of it I'm donating to Jilly's Bead Posse, (a dedicated group of artisans working to raise funds++ for researching Alzheimer's). I made 36 pairs of earrings for the cause, (I forgot to take pictures, but you can view some of them on Jilly's Bead Posse by searching for my name!), and now I'm making some polymer clay pendants, a waterfall pendant or two, and some other stuff!*laughs* It's keeping me pretty busy!

And a random photo from my Etsy shop:

http://zenithjade.etsy.com/

Cool Faceted Polymer Clay Beads! Mosaics!

http://artjewelryelements.blogspot.com/2013/04/polymer-clay-how-to-faceted-crackle.html

Learn how to make these lovely beads by following the above link! (I did NOT make these, but thought they were too cool not to share!).

(c) Art Jewelry Elements

Here's something I DID make:

I just learned recently how to make polymer clay roses! I really love how this one turned out!

Featured on a website!

http://paper.li/ArtBySunfire/1355073175

A New Newsletter from ZenithJade Creations

New news! There's several NEW blog posts up in my blog- most of them are about taking stellar photography! Here's the link: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ .

You probably don't know that I participated in several cool contests and blog hops. Their content is on my blog as well! My favorite, so far, is the Bead Soup Blog Hop run by Lori Anderson. It is wicked fun! In a nutshell, I was assigned a partner to send beads to, and my partner did the same for me. The next step was to design piece(s) from those beads! It is a HUGE bead and jewelry blog hop/party! I had so much fun designing for this one, that I'm going to do my level best to participate next year, as well. (The Bead Soup Blog Party post is currently the third post down, but in case you don't want to scroll for it, here's the link: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/2013/04/bead-soup-blog-party-7-reveal.html .

Also recent news for all you beady types- I joined a wonderful site called Bead Swap USA. It is AMAZING. There are boxes full of beads to swap, as well as finished item swaps and person to person swaps, plus SO MUCH MORE. http://beadswap-usa.com/ . It's set up in a forum type format, with each section run by moderators. It is really nifty!

Have you noticed I've been trying to blog more? :) I'm doing my level best! My good friend Kerri says that I have interesting stories to tell, and I sure hope that's the case! I surely don't want to bore anyone! *winks* Maybe each time I write a blog post, I'll email it out. I'd love some feedback on that! I don't want to spam your inboxes. Opinions on the matter can be emailed to me at zenithjade@yahoo.com.

I also chat passionately about charitable causes I'm involved in. Here's an update from my ZJC Facebook page I posted fairly recently:

"You can join Jilly's Bead Posse, (it's a crazy group of crazy artists and jewelry designers who believe in fighting for the cause of Alzheimer's) by going here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JillysBeadPosse or here: http://www.jillysbeadposse.com/ . I made and donated 36 pairs of earrings to the cause. Others are making (even more) earrings, bracelets, keyrings/chains, necklaces and what-have-you. :) Another thing I'm doing is taking over 150 pictures of earrings & editing them for my friend Kerri, who is donating 163 pairs of earrings!!! (And I thought 36 pairs was a lot! LOL!). ANYONE IS WELCOME TO JOIN. There are at least TWO fundraisers going on RIGHT NOW. Please check out the website for details. (It's under Fundraisers!).

I have several new blog posts up, two of which detail photography tips & tricks + editing. Mostly, I'm just linking to others blogs, eventually I'll write my own tutorial on how to get good pictures... but until I do, there are a couple of great ones that link from my blog! Here's the link to my blog: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ .

Tonight I made five new polymer clay hearts! Yes, the pretty rustic ones. I recently bought some LOVELY vintage cabochons from Lindsay, (a Bead Swap USA member: http://beadswap-usa.com/ ), and had so much fun incorporating them into my heart designs. I hope you'll like them! I promise to show some pictures tomorrow. And I don't think I'm done playing with polymer clay yet tonight! :) I am having WAY too much fun. You can view a rustic polymer clay heart component here, to see what I'm talking about: https://www.etsy.com/listing/123593014/rustic-polymer-clay-heart-set-with . Woot woot! Lots of new news!
PS- if you've read this far, I'm having another GIVEAWAY when I reach 400 fans! I only have 31 more peeps to "like" my page and we're good to go! If you'd like to help, please do so by "sharing" this page with your friends. I'm very rarely boring, I promise!"

So that's what I've been up to! :) Have a wonderful, fantastic day, and don't forget to give me feedback on whether or not I should email about blog posts! zenithjade@yahoo.com!

Love,
Andrea

Original Email:  http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2e39a3b8ab9b48f3cf3a22c14&id=1901fb711f

Easy Peasy Photography & A Free Tutorial!!! (Added some photography tutorials)

Blogging from A-Z *P - Photos

Photo Editing Like a Pro - PicMonkey 

How to Make a Cheap DIY Flash Diffuser for Macro Photography

A Small & Portable Food Photography Studio (works for other photos too!)

 Diamond Knotted Cord Bracelet Tutorial

To view my bead soup blog party post, please click HERE. :) 

 

 

Links and information!

The Elusive White Background In Jewelry Photography And How To Achieve It

A Tutorial: Achieving a Pure White Background In Your Jewelry Photography

 

The Guild of Unauthorized Sharing

 

 How I Accidentally Killed One of the Greatest Companies on the Planet

 

***To view my Bead Soup, click here! ***

 

 

BEAD SOUP BLOG PARTY 7 REVEAL!!!

Here is the lovely sea glass and pendant from Antelope Beads Andrea Trank sent me. :)

A big old pile of goodies!!!

Another shot of the goodies Andrea Trank sent me!

 This is the very first piece I made using the beads Andrea Trank sent me. The only bits I added in were some goldstone beads, some copper/brass beads and a touch of smoky quartz... plus all the findings minus the chain & clasp at the top!

I used both the clasp and the focal sent to me in this one piece... I really love how it turned out! And the earrings are just too cute! But this isn't the end.... I made even more! (See below...!!!)

This is the SECOND piece I made from the beads my partner sent me. :) Those are lovely sea glass spears she sent me, and some rounds (which I paired with stick pearls in shades of green), Swarovski baroque drop, Swarovski cubes, Czech glass rondelles which my partner also sent me... with a blend of baroque freshwater pearls at the very top mixed with peridot Swarovski crystal.

This is the whole necklace. And it's LONG. I thought it needed quite a bit of length to balance the weight of the "focal" I made. It's called a "Waterfall Pendant"... I used bits of copper tone chain between the  spacers. Incidentally, Andrea (my partner in crime for Bead Soup Blog Party), sent me all those lovely rondelles in the necklace & pendant... two different shades of green!

But no, that's not even all I made........ (See below!!!)

I made these GORGEOUS sea glass earrings. Andrea, I don't know how you matched two of the spears so well, but I thought they'd be PERFECT for dangly earrings! I wrapped the spears in copper, with all copper findings... those little rounds are even more sea glass she sent me... plus I ended the earrings with just a touch of purple Swarovski crystals. Yay! I absolutely adore Swarovski!

Now, not to toot my own horn, I did make one other thing using some of the beads that Andrea sent me- but I submitted it to a different contest. The Czech glass tubes were perfect to blend with the Zebra Jasper. (Andrea sent the Czech glass tubes). The other beads are vintage golden seed beads, crackle crystal quartz, baroque freshwater pearls and of course the large Zebra Jasper ovals and the Czech glass tubes.

I didn't think I'd be done making stuff yet, but I plumb ran out of time this time around to make anything else!

I hope you enjoy looking at the BSBP7 goodies!

Have a wonderful, spectacular day!

Love, Andrea G.

PS- here's Andrea Trank's blog- you can see what she made with the beads I sent her: http://www.heavenlanecreations.com/

You can also view the participant list for the 2nd reveal here: http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/ !!!

Bye Bye Bargain Hunters

Megan makes some great points in her blog post here: http://megansbeadeddesigns.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/saying-goodbye-to-the-bargain-hunters/ . :)

Angel's Beaded Poetry & Contests!

So, I've been entering a lot of contests lately, (actually, I can't seem to resist them!). And oddly enough, I've been winning some really cool stuff! I guess it's true that you can't win if you don't enter. :) Don't be afraid to enter contests!!! They're a ton of fun and you get to meet new people through them, which in my humble opinion is the best part! :)

So far on the list is a digital subscription to Bead Style Magazine from All Pretty Things & Zinio, a lovely ring from O'Sebastian, (see this post), a bead raffle from http://beadswap-usa.com/, some cool gifts from Diana (she threw in names from Bead Swap USA and I was one of the chosen), and this LOVELY NECKLACE from Angel's Beaded Poetry, (and here's a link to her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AngelsBeadedPoetry):

 This is me wearing my lovely new necklace!

You can find Angelique's jewelry here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AngelsBeadedPoetry

and her facebook page here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AngelsBeadedPoetry

and a blog to be announced! :)

Her wire-working skills are just AMAZING. Just look at this necklace:

Viewable here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/119899997/my-heart-swirls-for-you-pendant? !!!

Like I said, A M A Z I N G . :)

Please, check out her shop and give her some facebook love! *MAD LOVE*