Etsy Picks : Modern Indian Jewelry

 

Today, I have a new kind of post for you! I’m going to show you my favorite jewelry from Etsy sellers. And what better way to kick start my blog series than using an India theme in honor of my country!

An Indian woman probably wore only gold and precious gems in olden times,but nowadays most Indian women have embraced modernity in lifestyle and fashion.

If you ask me, I would say that a Indo-Western “fusion” kind of jewelry is what most modern Indian women wear on a daily basis- though the metal of choice for most women remains Gold.

For casual jewelry however, these 5 are my picks for a modern, feminine look that’s global yet unique!

[Just a quick note: All the pictures in this post are not mine. They belong to the respective Etsy shop owners featured here. Most importantly, I am not affiliated to these shops in any way!]

Groovy Silk Thread Bangles

Purple Silk Thread Wrapped Bangle Bracelets (Set Of 6)
Purple Silk Thread Wrapped Bangle Bracelets (Set Of 6) by Exotic Bangles

I love this shade of Oriental Violet! (I have acrylic paint in somewhat the same shade of purple  which is called Oriental Violet…so I’ll be using that term to refer to this color.) I would team this with a black blouse and jeans or a skirt – these bangles from Exotic Bangles would be such a nice pop of color!

A leather bracelet/ anklet?

Clay - Double Wrap Rainbow Jasper on Leather
Clay - Double Wrap Rainbow Jasper on Leather Bracelet by MadRiver Designs

I ABSOLUTELY cannot resist this earthy wrapped bracelet by MadRiver Designs that can also be worn as an anklet.

One chunky ring

India Inspired Ring
India Inspired Ring by Hempsteadhouse

This beautiful India inspired ring from Hempsteadhouse is made by Heather using Sterling Silver and custom colored resin. I feel like eating it 🙂

Big Earrings with a twist on classic shapes

Sitaara (Star) Earrings Vintage Rhinestones Matte Goldplate
Sitaara (Star) Earrings Vintage Rhinestones Matte Goldplate by Minou Bazaar

I have no words to describe how these sparkly Celestial earrings by Meenoo of Minou Bazaar make me feel! Maybe it’s because I am a Cancerian who is governed by the Moon but  these aurora borealis rhinestones are so soothing to my eyes. Great for an evening out, don’t you think?

The Statement Necklace

Maya Necklace in Gold fill with Chrysoprase, Turquoise
Maya Necklace in Gold fill with Chrysoprase, Turquoise by Mosaic Design

This necklace by Gurmukh Khalsa of MosaicDesign has such oomph factor with its gorgeous green Chrysoprase pendant  surrounded by little Turquoise ray. I would wear this with a simple white shirt and blue jeans any day!!

BONUS PICK:

Tambourine - Single Wrap Faceted Jasper on Leather
Tambourine - Single Wrap Faceted Japer on Leather Bracelet by MadRiver Designs

I’ll leave you to drool over this peaceful, dreamy yet strong leather cuff bracelet also by MadRiver Designs.

These bracelets are too hot to handle! I’m sure you don’t want to miss out on the fun. Head over to the Art Bead Scene Blog to try out their free Memory Wire cuff bracelet project. Let me know how it goes. I’d love to see your creations.

P.S: I am planning to post my favorite Etsy picks from now on. If you think your Etsy shop could do with more customers discovering it or if you have a great product that you would like me to feature- please email me at craftzy@gmail.com!

Bead Table Wednesday – 17 May 2011

Happy Wednesday!

Bead Table Wednesday
Join the Bead Table Wednesday Group on Flickr!

This is just my fourth Bead Table Wednesday and I’m really really enjoying just being able to see so many different bead tables and jewelery projects from all over the world!
Last week, something malicious happened to my website and caused me a lot of trouble 🙁 -my site was inaccessible for most of the week and so- no BTW post 🙁 I managed to get my photos into Flickr though- so I can show off my favorite blue pendant to you now! I made it last week.

Handmade Blue Swirly Pendant
Handmade Blue Swirly Pendant

This week, I made some more pendants… I didn’t start out with any particular theme in mind, but as you can see- it looks like the predominant theme is Nature.

Green Fields-A handmade pendant with a leafy design.
Green Fields-A handmade pendant with a leafy design.

Here’s the second pendant I made – it’s a hand stamped epoxy pendant that I painted with acrylic paints ( chrome green, white, and oriental violet).

Indian Lily- A handmade pendant
Indian Lily- A handmade pendant

I hope I haven’t ruined its beauty with my yucky painting skills…What do you think of it?
I made the floral design using this wooden stamp (hand carved block) that is traditionally used in India for block printing fabric.

Wooden block used for textile printing.
Wooden block used for textile printing.

I have a small stash of stamps like this one.[Note to self: Pick up more of these blocks :)]
I made a little crocodile pendant too just for fun! Here he is:

Small crocodile pendant
Small crocodile pendant

And one misshapen, geometric pendant that was just my attempt at finishing up the epoxy before it dried out. Blehhhh-maybe I should paint it? Might look a little better then!

Geometric pendant
Geometric pendant

P.S: The epoxy compound I use, has a drying time of 90 mins at 27 degrees C.
What’s on your Bead Table?

My Creative Passion

Fire Twirler by Saperaud
Fire Twirler by Saperaud (Image from Wikimedia Commons)

I’ve always been interested in craft for as long as I can remember. Craft class at school was my idea of heaven and I spent most weekends cutting or gluing some thing to another!

I started with paper crafts and made my way through embroidery, cross-stitching, macrame, sewing, a bit of crochet, jewelry making, origami box making, journal making, baking cakes and now I’ve landed back into the world of jewelry making. I don’t know if my “Jill of all crafts, master of none” tendencies will benefit me in the future but I know that I’m probably never going to stick to one thing for too long!

I’ve subscribed to April’s posts over at Blacksburg Belle. One email in particular got me thinking about what really ignites my creativity and what fuels my crafting urges. I wanted to record my answers to some questions that really got me thinking.

What can get me out of bed at 5 a.m even when I’ve had a late night?

New beads can do this 🙂 New rolls of fabric or sheets of paper also have this effect on me! Fortunately, since I feel that sewing is too labor -intensive a hobby- I think it is safe to say that making jewelry or earrings really wakes me up.

What keeps me thinking at night?

My blog keeps me up at night. I have tons to share and many posts in my Drafts folder but I often chicken out from posting them! Apart from this, I love making jewelry at night and I could probably continue till morning if I haven’t exhausted my supplies.

What do I get the most complements on?

The earrings I make are definitely complimented whenever I wear them or when one of my customers (friends) wear them. I’ve also got many requests from friends to make them custom earrings to match their clothes.

When do I get a creative high?

I think I have a ‘Cheshire cat’ grin plastered over my face whenever I’ve just bought more beads or supplies to play with. Just the thought of all the possible outcomes drives me wild with joy and the passion to make something soon!

What are my core values?

-I want to make unique wearable jewelry

-I want to price my products fairly (to my customers and to myself)

-I want to do it well

-I want my customers to love each piece and return to me for more!

Nothing else matters when:

I’ve got an idea or two to chase into finished jewelry- I can think of nothing else!

I am sharing some of the questions and my answers to them – as a record for myself and so that you too can ask yourself the same questions! I am sure the answers will kick your business up a notch or two. Head over to Blacksburg Belle and improve your blogging+ creative business+ a lot more!

 

Bead Table Wednesday 4 May 2011

Join the Bead Table Wednesday Group on Flickr!

Hello there! Happy Wednesday!
I’m really thrilled that I remembered to take pictures for my second Bead Table Wednesday
This week, on my bed (I do most of my jewelry making on my bed as I mentioned in my previous post)- there are some blades, some play-dough, grid paper, rollers and some completed pendants.

The paper with the grid is one of my newest finds. I got the idea from the Crafty Goat website- from this post on how to make perfect squares of polymer clay.Basically, you use a grid outlined with a Sharpie as a guide to cut your clay into perfect squares or rectangles for pendant projects. This way you can get many pendants of the exact same size! Isn’t that a lovely tip?

My work surface
My work surface- with a roller, play dough, a blade and grid paper

I started making swirly pendants from epoxy putty on Saturday. All my grand plans of buying more beads and supplies on the weekend flew out of the window as I managed to fall sick with the flu. Right now it looks like pendant week on Craftzy!

My favorite swirly pendant
My favorite swirly pendant

So let’s see – this one’s my favorite cos it’s probably the one with the most defined swirlies. I am not going to paint it as I feel it’s pretty as it is. I somehow like the grayish white look of the putty when it hardens. (I would love to imagine it as some kind of ceramic or marble!).

Epoxy pendant with an angled stripe design
Epoxy pendant with an angled stripe design
More epoxy pendants that I made
More epoxy pendants that I made

I made 3 other pendants and I am planning to paint these with Pebeo Acrylic paints and am considering giving them a gloss coat too sometime…

Practice pendant that I made from play dough
Practice pendant that I made from play dough

By the way, I had mentioned play-dough being on my work surface today (no, I didn’t flick it from my nephew!). I use it to practice my pendant designs and other ideas that I want to try without messing up my epoxy compound. The texture is smoother on the epoxy and the play dough is more squishy and delicate but I like to practice this way all the same.

How about you, what’s on your Bead Table?

Why I want a blog buddy

I’ve been blogging on Craftzy for about a month now and while I am not yet at a loss for blog topics – I’m at a loss for interaction! There have not been many comments on my blog and I feel as if I don’t have anyone to share my “crafting/jewelry” quirks with.

So here’s an open invitation- I’m looking for blogging buddies who:

  • blog about their handmade jewelry, paper craft, sewing or handmade craft business
  • can keep me accountable for blogging 🙂
  • want to guest post on Craftzy or have me to guest post on their handmade craft blog
  • share links to other craft blogs or sites that will help each other and readers too
  • suggest ideas for posts or work on projects together
  • want to motivate me and get motivated in turn
  • wants to learn more about blogging and networking
  • will offer comments and feedback on my posts.

You can live anywhere in the world – that is not a concern for me. I would just like to have a craft “pen-pal” 🙂

P.S: This post might sound creepy and desperate but I assure you that I am neither. I am a writer by day and jewelry designer +paper crafter by night. Please read my About Sarah page for more info and stop by my Gallery to see my work too!

Please leave a comment or email me at craftzy@gmail.com if you would like to be my blogging buddy 🙂 Thanks!

It’s Time for My Business

Crafters who are starting out on new business using your creative talents- sit up and take note of April of Blacksburg Belle!

If you work full time (like me) and if you feel that you never have enough time for your creative business – you need to watch this video and this video by April.
April shared some great ideas – these are things I’ve always kind of known but never quite made the connection between theory and practice. Here are the points that I like and what I’m going to do for each:

Wake up early to work on my creative business

April talks about getting up early and tackling creative business tasks in the morning while we’re still fresh. Most often, I plan to make products or list items at night on weekdays but this never ever happens cos I’m either too tired or I’ve reached home very late due to traffic. This point appeals to me as I’m usually up by 6.15 every morning and I have about an hour of time (that I usually dwindle on non-business tasks like reading the paper) before I have to get ready for work.An hour a weekday will give me 5 hours of productive “studio” time or blog time for my business and I am sure that I will be at my freshest at that time.

Go easy on the heavy-duty marketing

I was also struck by what she said about marketing for a new business. Without spending time to make more products that will lead to sales – there IS no business! I keep forgetting this point and I have been busy thinking up business cards, brochures and blog parties to market my business – which technically hasn’t taken off by leaps and bounds yet!Of course, one has to market the business and let people know it is there but for a new business to take off well, it is more important to have products to sell! (Got a nice rhyme to it, aint it?)

Concentrate on high-leverage tasks

In one of my previous posts, I was rambling about trying to finish off this and that in April. Though making products figured right at the top of that list – I have since then realized that I was giving too much importance to other tasks like socializing and networking without actual contact with others (read wasting time on Facebook and lurking around craft blogs without commenting!) Thankfully, I have been creating new pieces consistently during the past month, so my business is not in such a bad shape – but I haven’t made enough items to reach my full potential yet.

As April says, I’m going to concentrate on high-leverage tasks from now on:

    • Make more products – I will try to create products at least 2 to 3 days a week.I’ve joined the Bead Table Wednesdays group on Flickr to jump start my creativity.
    • Write better product descriptions-Geez, I’m a professional writer and that makes me pretty cocksure that I’ve got this down pat…but reading my item descriptions later always makes me cringe! So I’ve got to spend more time writing smart descriptions!
    • Scheduling blog posts – starting today, I’m going to try and write 3 or 4 blog posts before hand so that I’m not running in circles trying to find topics to blog about.
    • Improving my products– I don’t want to keep making the same thing or keep using the same materials. This is why, I’ve started deviating from my usual style and comfort zone while making my recent batch of earrings.

Go offline during creative time and use commuting time to read mails/posts/listen to podcasts

I’ve been reading blogs about improving productivity, I’ve signed up for a lot of emails on creative businesses but reading all that content has left me with no time to make anything. From now on, I’m going to go offline during creative time (mornings) and instead I will use my 45 minute commute to stay up-to-date with the helpful stuff in my inbox. I’m not having any more of this information overload business happening!

The tasks that are not on my high priority list for now are:

  • worrying about my branding and marketing strategies
  • looking for constant inspiration by lurking on blogs
  • subscribing to email courses and services that do not help me create and only contribute to clutter in my inbox.
  • learning new techniques – I will limit my learning time to 1 or days per month so that I don’t waste the time I can spend in creating things in ways that I already know.

How will you make time for your business this month?

What is your creative biz schedule like?