Halloween/Day of the Dead Jewelry Blog Hop by Suburban Girl Studio (A dedication to Crab Apple)

Here's a link to Toltec Jewel's Halloweeny Blog Hop: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/2013/10/octoberfest-day-of-dead-by-jewel-school.html

So for this Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop, we were supposed to make something using artist beads- for the uninformed, they are beads that are handmade, not mass-produced. :) They can include polymer clay, (my medium of choice), lampwork, clay, porcelain, wood, etc etc etc. I actually made a pair of polymer clay kitty cat earrings in honor of my cat, but didn't manage to get a snapshot of them on Sunday. I will add to this post later today, so keep your eyes peeled! They are awfully cute. *love* In the meantime, however, I have made some other beautiful stuff using artist beads... and here they are:

Pumpkin Earrings (the pumpkins were made by me using polymer clay!) on Sterling Silver Earring Hooks:

And a real pumpkin, carved by my finace, Eric:

And a cool bracelet in Halloween colors with a SKULL accent from The Beehive and a lampworked bead by Marica of Shazazz Glass:

Used in this bracelet are faux black matte sea glass beads bought from Bedazzled (our local bead store), purple glass from The Beehive (a bead shop/group on facebook), black faceted crystals, and lampwork glass by Shazazz glass. The little skulls are also from The Beehive. :)

This post brought to you by my Halloweeny Cat, Crab Apple, who died on Friday, October 18th, 2013...

 This is Crabbi... isn't she beautiful? I thought she'd make a great Halloween mascot for this post.

Remember, I'm going to show off a pair of lovely kitty cat earrings a little later today, (when the sun pops out so I can get a good photo!), so keep your eyes peeled!

Without further ado, here are the pictures of the black kitty cat Halloweeny earrings:

Black polymer clay, a little pink nose, Swarovski crystals for the eyes in Topaz I think, and yellow fluorite- all on silver plate. :)

Here's another photo:

Here's Suburban Girl Studio's call for artists. (CLICK!)

And without further ado, here's the participant list:

Christine Damm   http://storiestheytell.blogspot.com

Diana Ptaszynski  http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com (The host!)

Staci Smith  http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/

Kathleen Breeding  http://99bobotw.blogspot.com

Sue Kennedy  http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Dianne Miller  http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy  http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Toltec Jewels  http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Linda Landig  http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com

Laura Medeiros  http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com

Veralynne Malone  http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com

Lynn Jobber  http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk

Michelle McCarthy  http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com

Karen Totten  http://www.starryroadstudio.blogspot.com

Jayne Capps  https://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Jenny Davies-Reazor  http://jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Joan Miller  http://metalmudandsand.blogspot.com/

Melissa Meman  http://melissameman.blogspot.com

Melissa Trudinger  http://www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Kari Asbury  http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Inge von Roos  http://www.ingetraud.wordpress.com

Andrea Glick  http://zenithjade.blogspot.com  (You are here!)

Stephanie LaRosa  http://Www.stringaholic.blogspot.com

Lola Surwillo  http://www.beadlolabead.com

Jennifer Cameron  http://glassaddictions.com/blog

Diane Hawkey  http://dianehawkey.blogspot.com

Kristi Harrison  http://kristibasket-itsanewday.blogspot.com

Nicole Valentine Rimmer  http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin  http://www.Pixiloo.blogspot.com

Shai Williams  http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Sandra McGriff  http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com

Sarajo Wentling  http://www.sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Marie Covert  http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com

Lisa Stukel  http://www.carefreejewelrybylisa.blogspot.com

Laurie Vyselaar  http://www.Lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com

Sherri Stokey  http://www.knotjustmacrame.com

Pam Traub  http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com

Lori Dorrington  http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

Eleanor Burian-Mohr  http://cornerstoregoddessjewelry.blogspot.com

Sally Russick  http://thestudiosublime.com

Dawn M. Gallop  http://www.flipflopsandpoptarts.com

 

How To Boost Your Search Engine Optimization on Etsy! (SEO)

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/4-ways-to-improve-your-seo/?campaign_label=etsy_success&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=etsy_success_052813_5871075908_0&utm_medium=email&email_sent=1369856521&euid=_x7Z3Y6geqxH_oGb2BZZ-F9xILzy

COMING SOON TO MY ETSY SHOP:

http://zenithjade.etsy.com/

"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/

Featured on a website!

http://paper.li/ArtBySunfire/1355073175

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/ !!!

Some of my Art & a Lesson in Business

 Both of these prints are getting donated to the Froghaven Farm auction. I sure hope you guys like them. The above one is a fractal, designed by me! It's called "Artist's Palette [Fractal]." (You can look up what a fractal is right here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractals) and the bottom one is a landscape I took right outside of Cashton, WI. It's called "Lonely Tree." I know, not the most original name in the world, but it suits! *grins*

Here is Amanda Luxe's Lesson in Business, (it's a link to her blog!): http://www.pinkcandyfashion.blogspot.com/2009/10/tips-for-making-money-by-working-at.html. I thought it had some good points! I'm sure I'll have points to add, but it's getting late, and I need to get some sleep! I've pulled too many over-nighters recently! *winks*

Calling All Artists!

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

Lisa Powers is trying to raise some monies to buy a handicapped accessible vehicle! You can see details right here in her "about" page: https://www.facebook.com/FroghavenFarmTN/info .

Artists from ALL OVER are donating works of art for her auction, which is scheduled to take place in mid- to late March. :)

I'm donating 2 prints, a polymer clay focal of some sort and a piece of jewelry or a set!

If you'd like to donate, please send her a message via her page. :) That would be the bee's knees!

I'll keep everyone updated on when the auction starts, so if you'd like to BID instead, you can! WOOT!

Also, if you can, please share this far and wide with other artists and your friends! :) The more, the merrier! Thanks!

Featured on a Website! (Artfire Artisan News)

WOW! Also featured on a website for a tweet of mine- here's the link:
http://paper.li/ArtBySunfire/1355073175

You can see me, (Andrea), in the grey box to the left. I tweeted about an ArtFire Collection I was in! :)

YAY!

Here's a screenshot:

Sparta, WI Art & Craft Show

HUNDREDS OF VENDORS.  

We're booth number 246 in the New Gym!

506 N Black River St, Sparta, WI 54656 // (608) 366-3504

We're selling JEWELRY, JEWELRY and more JEWELRY! Hope to see you there!

If you'd like something custom-made and want to pick it up there, please message me with your request on facebook (Andrea Glick) and a phone number where I can contact you. Thank you!

♥,
Andrea and Candy

This is SOME of our inventory:

You can also JOIN our event on Facebook by clicking here. Thanks!!!

Non-Blogger & Blogger Challenge - Turmi

Once again, I've signed up for a Bead Soup Cafe beading challenge. (It's a fancy title for a contest!) Here's one of the pieces that I'm hoping will score some "likes" on facebook:

The main focals of the necklace are Zebra Jasper, and I just love the play of browns in them! They look like fancy chocolates to me! The other beads are, (in no particular order): crackled quartz crystal, baroque freshwater pearls, Czech glass tubes in brown/gold AB (aurora borealis finish), and golden seed beads. All copper findings. :)

Here's the inspiration picture:

 

I really hope I captured the essence of the picture! Anyways, I'm gearing up to make some more pieces with this as my inspiration.

If you'd like to join in on the fun, you can visit Bead Soup Cafe right here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeadSoupCafe/. If you'd like to sign up, go to this thread: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeadSoupCafe/permalink/556739097684268/. And you can upload your picture here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.556732894351555&type=1. 

The DEADLINE is MARCH 12th!

Then the voting will commence!

Don't Feed The Trolls and Updates!!!

I really wish I had written this post, it is so eloquent. Anways, click here to read it! :) And yes, it is about internet trolls. It is definitely worth a read!

In other news, I won a beady raffle from http://BeadSwap-USA.com/! You can find pictures of it on my facebook, right here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151481648269189.510245.70965219188&type=3.

I got owl beads!!! :)

Also, I'm participating in the Blu Mudd Design Competition, and this is what I got to design with:

This is a Blu Mudd Rouge Berry Ceramic Pendant, handmade by Moriah Betterly!

You can buy her AWESOME STUFF right here: http://blumudd.com/ . (She also makes the MOST ADORABLE Hello Kitty pendants- one in pink and one in blue. Go look and see!).

I've been drooling over beads. I just can't seem to have enough of them, (of course not!). But I'm going to have to focus on purchasing some supplies like jewelry boxes, organza bags, and packaging materials. Oi! I wish I could just keep buying beads... Wishing wishing wishing.

If all goes to plan, I'll be attending the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee this June! I will not be taking any classes, (I'm getting there for the tail end of the show, methinks), but I will be on a bead buying frenzy! :) YAY! Sounds like a blast to me! I'll keep you all posted!

Also, I won this ring from the talented Karen Snyder of OSebastian! :) Here's the link to her shop:
 http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/OSebastian
and the link to this ring:
http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/5721682

Teaser Photo from the BSBP7!

Here's a teaser photo of the necklace and earring set I made from the components that Andrea T sent me:

I used http://pixlr.com to strange-ify my picture.

I can't wait until my reveal date on April 6th! Hope everyone is having as much fun as me!!! :)

How To Host An Online Trunk Show

I actually wrote a post for it on Artisan Whimsy! You can view it by going to my page, here: http://artisanwhimsy.ning.com/profile/AndreaGlick! It's all the way at the bottom. If you can't read it, it probably means you need to make an account at Artisan Whimsy! And I wholly suggest you do so. :) It's a GREAT community of jewelry artists.

If you have any questions about it, feel free to shoot me an email at zenithjade AT yahoo DOT com. (I'm preferring to avoid spam-bots, LOL!).

And for kicks and giggles, here's a picture of one of my pieces:

What I Gave My Partner (Andrea T) for Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP7)

A lovely mishmash of mostly greens and a little bit of brown and some pink. I also gave her all black findings, (toggle clasps, earwires, and other findings). The idea was to use the fancy jasper as the main focus of the design, so all the colors blend well together. :) But that's just MY idea. I can't wait to see what Andrea does!

The focals on the left are made by me, ZenithJade Creations! You can find more focals like them in my Etsy shop, here: http://ZenithJade.etsy.com/ ! I also included a brown and green jasper? focal that's on the bottom right in case the others wouldn't fit her color scheme. (They're a mix of brown, copper, pink and translucent!)

As you can probably tell from the photo, I included a diverse variety of goodies to choose from! In the middle top is a strand of irregular freshwater pearls...

Here's the heart focal I made for Andrea. Isn't it cool? I embedded three Swarovski crystals into the heart. It also has a place to hang dangles from! :)

Here's an up-close view of some Czech? glass beads that are black & green, some fancy jasper and green aventurine. YUM!

Andrea T just received my beads YESTERDAY, so I can post about what I gave her safely now. :) I'm sorry if these pictures are a little washed out- I edited them in photoshop so they wouldn't be so bad! *laughs* You can keep up with Andrea's blog here to see what she does with all the goodies! YAY!

A Little Slow on the Uptake

I'm having an online Trunk Show and you're invited!

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/153920814759414/

Here's some photos to whet your appetite:

The Trunk Show ends tomorrow at 7pm. Many thanks!

ZJC Online Trunk Show!

Hello everyone!

I'm having an Online Trunk Show Monday, November 19th & 20th, and you're invited!

Click here to go to the facebook event where I list all the details and teaser photos!

Here are a couple of photos to whet your appetite:

 China crystal & Swarovski crystal pendant on copper.

 Swarovski crystal & Swarovski Pearl Angel with a Swarovski crystal halo!

 Tree of Life pendant in amethyst. There are going to be two more (but different) Tree of Life pendants available. :)

 Hand-stamped custom pendant with a freshwater pearl!

 Beautiful hand-made focals with gemstone cabochons set in polymer clay. (There are going to be three total available, I think! If there's interest, I will make more!).

I will be posting the link to Artisans Open Market (that's where my trunk show is going to be) on Monday at 9am on my event page and on my facebook business page! Be there or be square. Plus, most items are discounted at least 50% off, some are MORE than that. :) This is first come, first served.

If you "JOIN" the event, I'm offering a chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to either my Etsy shop or my ArtFire store. If you "SHARE" the event, you get an extra entry!

Beautiful jewelry, ornaments and bookmarks at great deals + friends + gift certificate = FUN!