Leather Fringe Tutorial

I’ve gotten so many compliments on this simple necklace that I decided to write a tutorial. I used gemstone beads, which can be hard since the holes aren't usually as large as you need, but you could also you lampwork, crystal and glass beads as well as ceramic and clay. Click the picture to make it larger.

Supplies:
18” 2mm Leather
6’ of .5mm Leather
20 Beads, crystals, gemstones to fit on the .5mm leather
2 Large hole silver beads for 2mm
End Crimps and Clasp
Scissors
Flat Nose Pliers
Ruler

Instructions:

1. First make sure all your beads will fit on the .5mm leather cord. I string mine on a leftover piece while picking them out.
2. Cut your 2mm (heavier leather) to 18” or whatever length you choose.
3. Cut 6 pieces of 6” .5mm leather.
4. Cut 2 pieces of 5” .5mm leather.
5. Cut 2 pieces of 4” .5mm leather.
6. Create a Larks Head knot with all your 6” pieces onto the middle of the 2mm leather.
7. Add 1 5” piece with a Larks Head knot to each side next to the 6”.
8. Add 1 4” piece with a Larks Head knot to each side next to the 5”. You should have a graduated look with the leather fringe. Do not worry that the knots are not tight on the 2mm leather. Refer back to the picture if you are concerned that yours may look different.
9. Starting on one end, add a bead to one leather fringe.
10. Tie an Overhand knot to secure.
11. Add another bead to the next fringe and tie a knot.
12. Continue adding beads and knotting being sure to alternate the placement of your beads. Either high on the fringe or lower close to the end.
13. Tighten your Larks Head knots by pulling the fringe down.
14. At this point you may decide to add more fringe. Just scoot your fringe pieces over and add more in between or at the ends.
15. Add your silver beads to the 2mm leather, one at each end.
16. Center your fringe and silver beads.
17. Tie an Overhand knot in the 2mm leather to secure.
18. Add end crimps and clasp.

As I quickly put this together, please let me know if you have questions or if I need to add more information. Please feel free to use these instructions and repost on your blog or web site just as long as credit is given. Thanks, Dana

Tuesday Tunes - Gemstone Wonders

I love this mix for this week. I created it for another blog that I help write for the Puyallup Valley Gem and Mineral club. All the songs have a gemstone in the name. It was interesting finding some of the songs and remembering them. I've included some pics that I took this weekend at our annual show. It was a lot of hard work, but it is now completed for the year...funny thing is I volunteered to help at another show in October....I must like punishment.

By the way my gem trees are pictured in the bottom row with a photocopy of my new book cover. More on that on my gem tree blog.

Something New for 2009

As if I didn't have anything new to do. LOL I started a new web site with 1000 Markets late in December and have been adding new items and blog posts there. For all of my friends that follow me here, I thought I would leave a little tid bit of something new I created for a friend of mine. She watched our dogs (as you have seen in pictures in this blog) while we were on vacation in Tucson.

It is a multi strand fine silver link necklace with black onyx, agate, pearl and smokey quartz. The inspiration is a bracelet that I found in Tucson for her along with a smokey quartz pendant. We will be giving this to her this week but wanted to get a picture of it first. It turned out fantastic and will be very versatile. I would like to know what you think.

Visit my shop and look around. There are lots of shops and markets to check out, so if you are looking for something special in the handmade category, this is the new and upcoming place to buy.

danasjewelrydesign.1000markets.com

Hot Jewelry for Spring 2008

I've been trying to wear some of my newer designs here at work, out to various functions and even on vacation and have found that fused fine silver link chain mixed with gemstones is getting quite the attention. Both my chain and chain with gemstones have received lots of compliments, so I am in the process of designing several for my web site and the salon consignment. Round and oval links have been and are still popular with everyone, so stay the course if you are into making this type of chain. I guess the only problem I see is using up all your very expensive silver in making chains that may not sell down the road, so try posting signs that you will do special orders.

Colors in clothing is all over the board, but the most exciting is all the blue, fushia and yellow. There are so many gemstones that will compliment these colors of clothing including several blue stones, which haven't been as popular in the most recent past years such as blue sapphire, aquamarine, and lapis. Bring those pieces back out to wear with this years fashions or create something new with beads you have in your stash.

Other hot jewelry pieces will be bracelets. Bright colors are dominating the scene in layers of large bangles or beads. Don't try to match up a necklace to these bracelets as they are meant to be worn in place of other jewelry pieces and steal the show. If you are a designer and are wondering what this means to you, try purchasing some large resin or lightweight colorful wood beads to create a large bracelet design.

Earrings have been and still will be the one item that customers want to match up to a necklace. I always create a pair of earrings to match any necklace especially if that necklace has some exotic gems or shapes that could not be found anywhere else.

I'm still not sure how the jewelry industry will be doing as a whole this year due to the slowdown in the market, but my year started out better than last year so I'm optimistic.

Happy Designs, Dana

At a Stand Still

What do you do when you have so many ideas for things that you can't seem to get to them all? I think this is where I am at now.

I entered a jury competition for RAGS this year and was turned down because my jewelry looked the same as everyone elses. Hmm, I guess when you think about it everyone's jewelry that is being designed today looks like everyone elses. I'm not put off by this, but will definately look at what I'm designing and what is selling. During the holidays, I sold a lot of wire wrapped pendants and gemstone wire trees. I tried selling them about 3 years ago and no one wanted them, go figure that I'm a few years ahead of everyone else. In doing some research on the web, I found that there really isn't a lot of tutorials about how to wire wrap a pendant. There are some simple designs, and that seems to be what everyone is making. I may have to give this some thought, but I could put a couple of designs out here for reference that I have developed. Since I have so much going on right now, this will have to be a goal for later in the year.

If you have read my blog on gem trees, you will now know that I am writing a book on how to make a gem tree. This is taking up a huge amount of my at home time reserved for relaxing. If I'm not writing then I'm making a tree or trying out a new design or material. I found some freshwater pearls at a local large bead shop that are flat and leaf like that I'm working with now. It should prove to be a wonderful looking little tree and one that I hope I have picture for the book as another option to gemstones.

On another note, anyone that knows me knows that I have jewelry on consignment at a salon. In 2006, the Salon did about a 1/3 of my overall jewelry sales and again in 2007 they did about 1/3. I did revamp the jewelry available at the salon this year to items under $50.00. Earrings are always $10.00, bracelets run up to $35.00 and necklaces to $50.00. This does create a challange for me as I have to find affordable gemstones that are still good quality. International Gem and Jewelry shows are my favorite place to look for affordable stones. Unfortunately to get them cheap, you have to buy in bulk. I may have to take a couple of friends along this year and share the wealth so that I don't end up with 6 or more strands of the same type and style of stone.

Well, I'll keep plugging along, but if you find you are stuck or have too much to do, be aware you are not alone.

Thanks for reading, Dana

What to do Now?

I've started implementing the ideas that have been floating around in my head for months. I have added two categories on my web site, one is Jewelry for Charities and the other is Chakra Jewelry.

My husband and I decided that we needed to start giving more to charities and I thought what a better way than to give a percent of my profit of sold jewelry items. I'm letting the buyer decide what charity the funds should go to and leaving it open as long as they are a 501(c)3 non-profit. Obviously I'm not doing this for all my jewelry, just those that I have labeled for charity. If you are curious, check out my web site.

My other idea was to create a line of Chakra inspired jewelry. All the jewelry in this category is made with gemstones. I have added the healing qualities of those gems and the Chakra that they support. I'm hoping to attract customers interested in the metaphysical properties of gemstones. I came up with another idea today to combine genuine copper with gemstones as copper has it's own healing qualities that people have been aware of for years. Look for some of those pieces early next year.

One of the other things I have been working on is getting my Etsy shop generated with hits so that I may get some buys off of it. I've read in several places that they way to generate sales is to have a lot of items for folks to choose from and to post something everyday. The fees for Etsy is relatively inexpensive, so if it brings sales, then I will give it a try. I'll let you know if it works next month.

Since this is the holiday season, I have three shows here in the next month and a half to get ready for along with updating the stock in the salon where I have commission items. I may do an open house after the holidays to catch folks with Christmas money to spend as I don't have time before. And if that isn't enough to do, I'm entering a juried competition for a local non profit show that is due mid December for a March showing.

Just recanting all this is making me stressed. I think the vacation that I have scheduled for Christmas time I will move up to get all this stuff completed. Sometimes the job does get in the way of the things we really want to be doing.

Thanks for reading and hopefully understanding. Dana :-0

A New Adventure

I decided that it was time for some drastic measures in my web site set up....okay, maybe not so much the set up but what I offer for sale and how I go about marketing it. My design style will never change unless I get a special request from a client to make something specific. So, what am I talking about. Well, I have started to get more involved with Energy and not the kind you get from caffine, but energy in the form of gemstones their healing capabilities. I've started designing and creating a line of Chakra jewelry...okay I have a few pieces made already, but I kind of figure that a lot of the stuff I have in my current inventory actually will work also. I just need to do more research on their benefits and clear the stones of any negative energy.

How do you clear stones of negative energy you ask? Well, there are several books out there that will be happy to tell you to put them under running water for several minutes, place them in a pan of salt (who would do this?), but I'm going to use Reiki to cleanse and energize the stones or jewelry pieces. I took a Reiki Level 1 class a couple of weekends ago and feel that this is a much safer method and one less damaging to the stones/jewelry themselves. It should also provide a more beneficial energy source.

Things to look for in September is a new link on my web site for Chakra Jewelry and a document under the Learning Center that describes the Chakra's and stones that are beneficial to use to boost your Chakra's.

My next show is in Castle Rock, WA so I'll start working on my labels and cards to hand out to folks that come by. I've been demonstating at the Castle Rock show for the past 3 years and some years I sell a lot and others not much at all, but since it doesn't cost my husband and I for the table space (we are supposed to be demonstrating) our expense is just the gas down there and back.

Obviously, I would love to hear from you about your thoughts on this and the benefits you might find in wearing a piece of natural jewelry that has potential healing benefits.

As always, be healthy, be happy, be beading......Dana

What to Work on Next

Well we just got back from IGEM in Seattle and boy did we find some wonderful gemstones. Okay, not only did I find them, I bought them. Definately look for some new designs on my web site using Champagne Quartz, Blue Labradorite and Pink Tourmoline. It is now just deciding what to start with first. Obviously, these are new gems for me, but not new to the gem world. I really didn’t see any new and exciting gemstones this time. Last year, it was the Fire Agate that I found most exciting and I have created and used some of my supply, but I bought more :-) .

If you have never been to the International Gem and Jewelry show (IGEM) and you are into jewelry and beads, you are in for a treat. Be prepared to be overwhelmed. There is so much to see and so many different vendors. My biggest hint to getting good deals is not to go to the wholesale section, but find a vendor in the retail area that has a supply of lots of things you would like to have (gemstone, crystal, pendants, bracelets, etc.) and make a deal. Buy more from that one vendor and they will most likely give you a big discount. Usually, a bigger discount than in wholesale. I found one vendor that had pendants, bracelets and gemstone strands. Because I was purchasing several items, I received 50% off of the pendants then another 25% off that. He also reduced the gemstone strands by 50% or more. This made it more than worth my while to purchase the bulk of my supply from him.

You should also keep track of what you purchase. My hint is to keep all the receipts in the bag with the gems so they don’t get mixed up with other purchases. Upon returning home sort through your items one vendor at a time and price each strand or item while it is still fresh in your mind. This way you can file away the receipts for your inventory purposes and not worry about losing them. If you wait too long you may get confused and forget the discount you received and not be able to tie back to what you were charged.

A couple of weeks ago I started selling some of my notecards and jewelry items on Etsy. We will see how that goes vs. my web site. I really just needed some additional marketing ideas and someone suggested that I give it a try. So far I can't tell that my web site has any more traffic, but the items that I do have posted on Etsy are getting some attention, but so far no sales.

Stay tuned for more of my Dilemmas. Thanks for taking the time to read. Dana