So, now, I am sitting at my place of work, putting the schedule together. Some would think that it is just a matter of simply putting what is going to be taught on what day of the calendar, right?

Nope…

There are a lot of things that go into heading a class of this type, privately, of course. I wouldn’t know how the big box stores do it.

First, asses your comfort level. How many people you are comfortable teaching? Six is ideal for a cozy setting and all you need really, unless you’re highly technical and have a projector for your smart phone. If that’s the case, knock yourself out. An intimate setting, like a dining room or small workshop in the back of a store is perfect.

Second, there is the inventory to consider. If you want to set it up so that you furnish the items they are going to need, you have to factor in your inventory costs, per item, and then work in a little profit to recoup the shipping and inventory. I usually divide the number of the item by the cost and then multiply it by how much they are going to need, adding in the individual shipping as part of the overhead. I also include a little surcharge for my time and effort. Generally, you want to charge enough so that a minimum of four people will recuperate your costs.

Keep it simple at first.
Start with the basics to catch the interest of those who are curious. I am starting out with cleaning and simple repair before I teach how to string beads together. This will give them the confidence to try the harder classes later on down the road.

Above all, make it fun.
Really engage the students, be loose and flexible in the class setting. If you are comfortable, then they will be as well.

The first order is for an angel that will adorn a desk. I have already started on the skirt. I am doing it in chainmaille/wire work. Lofty? Yes, but you never know what you are capable of until you try.

The second order left over from last year is a chainmaillle dragon. Another lofty project (I promise you. No puns intended.) for me, but one I am looking forward to accomplish. I have all the wire and scales that I need for the project.

The next order is the first one I got for the new year. It is for two rings in two different sizes. The one after that is a bracelet and earring set for a necklace already purchased as a Christmas gift.

On top of this, I have two invoices for shop deliveries, items to make to keep the creativity going, and taxes. Yep, taxes. I am not looking forward to getting my paperwork together. I can’t wait until I can afford to pay someone to keep up with that for me. Along with that is me putting together a digital display for the gas station to let everyone know where my pieces can be found.

Yes, this year has started out in a whirl-wind fashion, but I hope the blessings never stop.

I must admit, even though I don’t wear what I make (Well, every once in a blue moon.), when I started making jewelry, I would buy beads because they looked cool, neat, pretty, or just caught my eye. It wasn’t until I sat down to start actually making pieces that I would wonder what I was thinking as I looked around to all the shiny, colorful beads that I had purchased. I would force myself to string together beads in combinations that I now look back on and shudder. The pieces were, in my biased opinion, hideous. I either dismantled them, or buried them in a box, never to be looked upon again.

Now that I have been making jewelry for a while, I am more selective in what I purchase. Here are a few tips for the budding designers out there, whether you are starting a jewelry business or just making your own.

Finding the “Zen” of it.

If you can’t picture it, don’t buy them. It’s easy to fall into the trap of buying all the pretty and shiny beads out there; so, as you look at the strings of beads hanging from the peg, ask yourself if you can picture yourself making anything with the beads. If you can’t, let them be and move on my friend.

I have an idea, but I don’t know where to go from here.

You have an idea. This is a good start. Your next hurdle is picking colors and then the style. Sketch it out. It doesn’t matter what the sketch looks like as long as you can read it and refer to it for a visual.

Color and Style

Color is relative to both the season and the clothing being worn. Summer colors with winter is a clash that no one wants to see. Fire Mountain Gems has a color forecast page that is wonderful. The style is purely preference. Everyone has their own. You can choose to be the fashionista and replicate the current styles, go vintage, or even come up with your own by looking at books, magazines, and websites, and putting your own spin on it.

Above all, have fun with it.

God bless. Until next time.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe celebration.  Yes?  Good.  Now, on to what this year is going to bring, and things that have already been put into motion.

Still moving...

Pardonez Moi…

We are still in the process of moving all of the party planning oriented posts to the Angels’ Events blog.  This will help you find all the event planning portfolios, contracts for perusal, and the how-to videos for all your needs.  We felt that doing this was necessary to make things easier for both you, the client, and us as well.  We will be adding to the portfolio throughout the year with new party themes, more videos, and updates to upcoming workshops.

Please, don’t forget to “like” Angels’ Events on Facebook.  We will be doing promotions through the fan page.  The promotions will include discounts on theme packages, free items, and much much more.

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We’re Mobile!!!

Yes, we have finally leaped into the 21st century, and purchased a smartphone.  This means more posts, pictures and even video from remote locations.  I hope you will enjoy the new twist to the blogs.  As always, if you see where we can improve our service to you, just let us know by leaving a comment.

I hope you will follow us on this journey during the year.

I hope all of you had a Merry Holiday, whether it was Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and I am wishing you all the best in this New Year.

Making sure everything is packed and ready...

Well, it’s time to move things over, and re-arrange a few things here, too.  The rest of the event planning related posts will be moved here.  Among the things to be moved will be, how to save money, plan your own event, how-to videos, and the cooking videos and recipes.  I find it only fitting to do so simply because I am trying to organize everything in to easy-to-find blogs and blog pages.  This blog will be solely for releasing new pieces, tips and tricks of the jewelry making trade, and how-to videos related to jewelry crafting.  I will be putting a link to the event planning blog on the sidebar.

Morgan Jewelers Showcase with my things.

The past year has brought many blessings to my little business.  The photo on the left is my latest accomplishment.  What you see displayed on the middle shelf are my pieces of jewelry.  They sit at Morgan Jewelers here in Newnan, GA.  You can find the store in Ashley Park, an open air mall of sorts. (Some would call it a pavilion.)  Either way you label it, I have been eternally blessed with the opportunity of a life time.  On Wednesday, December 28, two of my pieces sold, and  the owner handed me $80.00 in cash.  I was elated.

This, however is just the beginning…

I will also be displaying my things in a consignment shop in mid January, and among those items will be herbal teas and cough syrup kits as well as my jewelry and other things.  The owner will also be letting me teach jewelry making classes from the shop, too.  I am excited by the thought of  my

www.bellshandcrafts.com... Coming soon.

little business taking off like a shot.  It is, on another note, a bit scary as well.  Don’t get me wrong.  I wanted my business to reach the point where I was working for and only me, but to see the velocity of the expansion is a bit overwhelming.  The good thing about blessings is that they keep coming when you’re headed in the right direction, and I have friends that are willing to learn the business and provide an extra hand when needed.  They will also be the ones who I will employ when my final dream (to have my own shop) is realized.

In the coming months, there will be more posts across all three blogs.  The posts will include the descriptions and stories behind the new items, and I will also announce the classes on the blogs and post a schedule on each of the blogs as well.  There will be a charge for the classes, but be assured that the classes will be worth every penny.  Well, that is it for now.  Keep following, and you be the first to see this business really take-off.

I hope every one had a safe and Happy New Year!!!

There were originally 2 rings in the center. I took one out.

There are several trials that got to this point in the design, but I didn’t take any pictures.  I placed two rings in the middle, and later, I took one out.  This was done so that it would hide the holes in the tail of the bead.

I tried different sizes of jump rings to get the right look for the center.  I think I went through about 4 different sizes.

I threaded to wires through the center.

I threaded two wires through the hole in the glass drop.  I then folded the wires to make four.  What you see here  is the result of slipping all the wires through the center.  Now, to wrap the wires around bottom and sides.  This is the tricky part.

Looks like a rat's nest, doesn't it?

In order to shore up the bead, I wove the wires through rings on the bottom, and to shore up the flower so it would not fall open, I wrapped rings together on the sides.  It took a little while, but I got it all done, and it the gas station no less.  That is no small task.  My manager wonders how I don’t go cross-eyed.

The finished product. Nice, huh?

Etsy

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In the beginning... There was wire.

Yep, this is how all my chainmaille project start.  With wire, a mandrel, and -if I am at work- my wrist action.  It is a shame that my drill is too big to take to work.  It takes twice to three times as long to coil wire by manually, but I love what I do, and I already painting a picture in my mind of how the piece is going to look.

I have already linked two rings to a hook for a closure and to mark the start of the bracelet.  The small diameter coil is going to be the small jumprings I am going to need to make what I call Celtic flowers.

Yep. This is the flower. There will be a bead in the middle.

This is the flower.  I am going to need three of these for the main part of the bracelet.  All I need to do is put a couple of wires into the drill hole of a bead, and place the bead in the middle for a little bit of color.  I am going to be using winter colors so I am already thinking about what kind of bead I am going to use.

I tried a couple by just placing them in the center to see how they looked.  I finally settled on a blue glass drop, because the bottom of the bead settles neatly into the center.  I played around with just one wire through it at first, but the setting was not stable.  I ended up adding another wire.

This is what happened when I put the bead in the center.

So, I thread the wires through the center and pull the wires through until the bead is sitting the middle.  The flower turned into a cup, and I had to put it down on the counter, and take a look at what happened.  Then the idea came to me.  I can make a ring!

Part Two is around the corner…

I laid it out after I finished one of the strands.

 …  the journey of a piece in the making.

It wasn’t until I was a quarter of the way through the piece when I realized that I hadn’t started taking pictures.  I laid out the beads first in order to get a feel for what I was doing.  I was putting this piece together at the gas station where I worked.  I wanted to string it at first, but then I realized that I didn’t have enough crimp beads, and I had forgotten to pack extras.  Oh, well, after a choice word or two, I had to improvise.   It wasn’t like it was the first time I had to do that.

Time for a swirl or two...

I turned wire into jump rings to link most of the first strand together.  I deliberated for a moment or two before I added swirls to the piece.   So I added them at every other space and worked on the other leg of the first strand.

Now to add some byzantine flair. Small, aren't they?

I played with the jump rings for a few minutes when I realized that they were the perfect size to make a chainmaille addition to the wire jewelry.  Unfortunately, the finishing of the piece was going to have to wait until the next time.  I had forgotten my glasses, and after a few of these, I started to get a headache from the eye strain.  You would think that I would learn by now.

Pretty blue, isn't it?

I bought this pendant at a Michael’s (a craft store).  It had been sitting in storage for a while.  It wasn’t until I took a look at the piece when I thought that the pendant would be quite at home as the main centerpiece.

Barrels and Byzantines...

What better way to link two strands together in the front than a few barrel chainmaille weaves and a modified byzantine weave as well.  I had to adjust the strands so that they would lay flat when worn.  That proved to be the tricky part of the whole piece.

Chains and Flowers $32.25

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