Yes, it's that most wonderful time of the year, where you get great stuff at great prices! In celebration of this most wonderful day, I will be having a Black Friday sale on my Etsy store! This sale starts at 10:00 PM MST (Midnight ET) and extends through 10:00 PM MST Monday.
All my jewelry will be 30% off, which gives you a chance to get great, original jewelry at very little cost. Wahoo! My photo prints will all be 20% off, and on top of that, you will get free shipping (on photos only)! These are killer deals, truly.
Oh, and for my lovely friends on Facebook, for extra EXTRA savings, go to my profile and see what you can see on my page :)
www.etsy.com/shop/HeatherRaesCreations
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Girls' Night Jewelry!
I have a group of good friends who get together now and then and do fun stuff. This is the second time I have helped them make jewelry, and the stuff they did this time was AMAZING! They all chose to do the same type of necklace, but they all looked very different from one another. They really reflected the girls' personalities.
The girls chose the beads they liked and the overall look they wanted for their pieces. Then I showed them how to make bead links with wire wrapping wire. That was the hardest part. After they finished making their links, I showed them how to attach them to the chain. The last step was to make a charm pendant, which we did by putting beads on an end pin (easy!), attaching them to varying lengths of chain, putting those on a jump ring, and then attaching the jump ring to a necklace. Then ta da! A necklace! They put their closures on the same way they put on their bead links. It was so fun!
This is a lovely little sister (in-law) of one of my friends. She wanted to model her necklace for my blog. I had a hard time getting a good photo with the available lighting, but she is still cute. She made a necklace with mostly purple glass beads with foil embellishment and some larger turquoise seed beads. Her charm pendant had matching beads plus a larger purple bead (which can be seen in
this pair of earrings).
The necklace on the left was designed by my closest friend of the bunch. I love the design so much that I want to copy it :) It's so classy and lovely. However, I already had one in mind that has some similar things going on so I will refrain.
On the right is a necklace that is very different. I like it a whole stinking lot too. It is sparkly with a blue and silver color scheme. It looked nice and wintery to me. All in all, I was impressed with their creativity!
The girls chose the beads they liked and the overall look they wanted for their pieces. Then I showed them how to make bead links with wire wrapping wire. That was the hardest part. After they finished making their links, I showed them how to attach them to the chain. The last step was to make a charm pendant, which we did by putting beads on an end pin (easy!), attaching them to varying lengths of chain, putting those on a jump ring, and then attaching the jump ring to a necklace. Then ta da! A necklace! They put their closures on the same way they put on their bead links. It was so fun!
This is a lovely little sister (in-law) of one of my friends. She wanted to model her necklace for my blog. I had a hard time getting a good photo with the available lighting, but she is still cute. She made a necklace with mostly purple glass beads with foil embellishment and some larger turquoise seed beads. Her charm pendant had matching beads plus a larger purple bead (which can be seen in
this pair of earrings).
The necklace on the left was designed by my closest friend of the bunch. I love the design so much that I want to copy it :) It's so classy and lovely. However, I already had one in mind that has some similar things going on so I will refrain.
On the right is a necklace that is very different. I like it a whole stinking lot too. It is sparkly with a blue and silver color scheme. It looked nice and wintery to me. All in all, I was impressed with their creativity!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
New Etsy Site!
I apologize for not posting for SO long! It was a CRAZY summer! However, I have some fabulous new designs I would love for you to check out! Go to www.etsy.com/shop/HeatherRaesCreations to see them. Not only am I posting jewelry for sale, but I am now also selling photo prints! So go check it out, and as always, if you like what you see, share it with your friends!
Until next time!
Until next time!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Jewelry Photos
This past Saturday, Michelle and I went out to take pictures of ourselves wearing my jewelry so I could show potential buyers what it looked like on. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun! Here are some of the best shots. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Techniques that got me started
In this posting, I will explain how I got started with jewelry making. These techniques are not only great for beginners, but even with more complicated designs.
For this bracelet, I used nylon coated beading wires, glass beads, metal charm beads, 2 crimp beads, needle nosed pliers, and wire cutters. Here are the beads I used:
To start, decide how much wire to use by wrapping it around your wrist and deciding how tight or loose you want it, and then give yourself a couple inches extra so you have room to put on the clasps. Once you know how much you need, use your wire cutters to cut the length you will be using.
Next, you need a crimp bead and one end of your clasp. Put the crimp bead on your wire followed by the clasp, and loop the closest end of the wire back through the crimp bead.
Next, use needle nosed pliers (or a crimp tool) to "smash" the crimp bead and secure the clasp.
Now you can start adding beads to the wire. You can have a very symmetrical pattern, or string them at random. I did a mix between the two for this piece. To make it easier to put the bracelet on, it's best to use small beads on both ends. Be sure to put the beads on both the main strand and the one that was looped through the crimp bead.
Once you have put on the amount of beads you want, which should be enough to create the length you desire, put another crimp bead and the other part of your clasp on the wire. Loop the wire over the clasp and through the crimp bead as you did before, as well as a few beads to make it more secure. Then hold the clasp with one hand and use the needle nosed pliers to tighten the wire.
After you have finished this step, smash the crimp bead as you did before and snip off any extra wire. Then wear and enjoy!
The matching necklace:
Keep reading for more tips!
For this bracelet, I used nylon coated beading wires, glass beads, metal charm beads, 2 crimp beads, needle nosed pliers, and wire cutters. Here are the beads I used:
To start, decide how much wire to use by wrapping it around your wrist and deciding how tight or loose you want it, and then give yourself a couple inches extra so you have room to put on the clasps. Once you know how much you need, use your wire cutters to cut the length you will be using.
Next, you need a crimp bead and one end of your clasp. Put the crimp bead on your wire followed by the clasp, and loop the closest end of the wire back through the crimp bead.
Next, use needle nosed pliers (or a crimp tool) to "smash" the crimp bead and secure the clasp.
Now you can start adding beads to the wire. You can have a very symmetrical pattern, or string them at random. I did a mix between the two for this piece. To make it easier to put the bracelet on, it's best to use small beads on both ends. Be sure to put the beads on both the main strand and the one that was looped through the crimp bead.
Once you have put on the amount of beads you want, which should be enough to create the length you desire, put another crimp bead and the other part of your clasp on the wire. Loop the wire over the clasp and through the crimp bead as you did before, as well as a few beads to make it more secure. Then hold the clasp with one hand and use the needle nosed pliers to tighten the wire.
After you have finished this step, smash the crimp bead as you did before and snip off any extra wire. Then wear and enjoy!
The matching necklace:
Keep reading for more tips!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Hello!
So, those of you who know me at all know that I love making jewelry! I have even started looking at people's jewelry and trying to figure out how to make it (which I have successfully done several times). I have so much fun making it, and so many little adventures associated with it, so I thought I would make a blog about it.
I first learned how to make jewelry when I was an assistant girls' camp director the summer of 2008. We were supposed to plan a craft for every day, and the director knew how to make bracelets. She wasn't able to be at the camp during the day because she had to work, so she taught me to make bracelets. From their, I figured out how to make some rough necklaces as well. I taught the girls to do both and it was very fun!
After that, I found I could make jewelry to go with my clothes cheaper than I could buy it. So I would buy materials specifically to match an outfit. I went on that way for some time.
Then about a year and a half later, or about four months ago, my friend was looking for ideas for a girls' night, and I volunteered to teach how to make jewelry. That incident rekindled my love for the craft. I learned new ways to make clasps hold, new ways to make bead strands and create different looks, styles, textures, etc. Now it has practically become an obsession and I love it! It is very stress relieving for me.
Keep watching for more adventure stories, pictures, and even a few tips for making it too!
I first learned how to make jewelry when I was an assistant girls' camp director the summer of 2008. We were supposed to plan a craft for every day, and the director knew how to make bracelets. She wasn't able to be at the camp during the day because she had to work, so she taught me to make bracelets. From their, I figured out how to make some rough necklaces as well. I taught the girls to do both and it was very fun!
After that, I found I could make jewelry to go with my clothes cheaper than I could buy it. So I would buy materials specifically to match an outfit. I went on that way for some time.
Then about a year and a half later, or about four months ago, my friend was looking for ideas for a girls' night, and I volunteered to teach how to make jewelry. That incident rekindled my love for the craft. I learned new ways to make clasps hold, new ways to make bead strands and create different looks, styles, textures, etc. Now it has practically become an obsession and I love it! It is very stress relieving for me.
Keep watching for more adventure stories, pictures, and even a few tips for making it too!
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