Rena Klingenberg's newest book reviewed

I got myself a copy of Rena's latest jewelry online selling and marketing book, and I have to admit, it's a hoot! If you want to read the review, head over there.
If you already have the book, make sure you leave me a comment, I want to know what you thought of it.

Celebrating Beads, the journey of... Pictures

At last! A week ago I had a chance to go to the Bead Museum in Washington, DC and to see all winner items of the Celebrating Beads, the journey of... contest. I tried to make some pictures but it was pretty hard using my old camera.


All items were in cases, and the light in the room wasn't bright, so I had to use flash on my camera, that's why the pictures are of such quality... Anyway, my husband and I enjoyed watching all amazing works live! I'd like to congratulate the winners, the finalists and the participants of the Celebrating Beads contest, I know many of them, and to wish them all best of luck!


Slide show: Celebrating Beads Winner Items

Cleaning siler jewelry

If you are like me, you like to wear your silver jewelry pretty much all the time. Eventually after a lot of wear, you will find that the silver jewelry has tarnished. What does this mean? Silver reacts with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide in the air and acquires a dull build up. It turns to a slight yellowish patina, and this robs the silver jewelry and articles of their natural sheen as well.
Cleaning silver jewelry is not difficult at all.

Pretty much all jewelry designers, jewelry artists have a tumbler (Lortone, or Chicago) which helps keep the silver jewelry shiny all the time. Just put your piece in the tumbler for an hour or so, and when you take it out, it's like new.

What about our customers, those folks that purchase our silver jewelry? They won't have a tumbler available, well, unless they make rock tumbling, in which case they still need another barrel for the stainless steel shot. But that's another story for another day.

So here are a few important tips on how to care for your silver jewelry, whether you buy it from me or any other place.

1. When you are not wearing that gorgeous piece, store it in individual small plastic bags (ziploc bags), as well as separate compartments in your jewelry box. Consider investing in a jewelry box that is lined with a 'tarnish-free' material to keep your silver bright and sparkling. Makes sure that you store it in a cool and dry place to avoid oxidation.
   
   
2. You can also find anti-tarnish paper strips that you can place inside your jewelry box. Just cut the strips into small pieces and place one in each small plastic bag with your jewelry. You'll find these strips at at a craft or hardware store.
   
   
3. Use a non-abrasive polishing cloth to polish your piece regularly.
   When you purchase your silver jewelry from me, I always include a polishing pad that you can use over and over again to wipe your jewelry clean with it. Actually you can use it right until the whole cloth is pitch black :)
   Btw, silver polishing cloths are available at major supermarkets, at hardware stores and at
   jewelry stores if you run out of stock.
   
   
4. You can also use soap and water to clean your jewelry. But do not dry silver off with paper towels or tissues, always use a soft cloth. Paper towels might scratch your piece.
   
   
5. Never dip your silver jewelry in 'dip' solutions or commercial cleaning solutions even
   though it may say that it is for silver jewelry. If you have Bali Silver beads as elements in your jewelry (those beads with some nice dark groves in them), dip cleaners will remove the black accents on them, as well as discolor the silver over time. Gemstones may also be damaged from the dip solution.
   
   
6. Do not use toothpaste to brush your silver jewelry with . Toothpaste and toothbrush will pretty much scratch your jewelry over time.
   
   
7. Another alternative that I've seen recently in action is this ultrasonic cleaner, which can be used not only for jewellery, but also CDs, DVDs, glasses and dentures. A pretty neat gadget if you ask me, and it's not all that expensive either. About one lunch in a medium style restaurant.
   

I hope these tips on cleaning silver jewelry will help you keep your silver jewelry shine for a long time to come.
And do not forget, I always include for free a silver polishing pad with every piece (one pad per package sent to you) you are buying silver jewelry from my jewelry shop.

Sparkle and Gleam

The Austrian crystal earrings above (Swarovski Austrian crystal) are a perfect match for the Swarovski crystal bracelet that you see below. Both earrings and bracelet feature the ruby Swarovski crystals in the Graphic shape, perfect for earrings and bracelet. The Graphic shape is an elegant, dressy shape, perfect for bracelets since it will lie flat on the wrist, and the shape is a classic, timeless look for earrings. I find Swarovski's labeling the colour "ruby" interesting since it is not what I think of a ruby colour immediately. Swarovski's "ruby" has a pink, well, really, a fuschia tinge to it, while I think of ruby as being a totally clear but dark red. No matter what you call it, the colour is gorgeous as are the Graphic crystals.
Below the ruby bracelet is another Swarovski crystal bracelet, this one made with pale golden topaz crystals and morion crystals. I love the morion crystals; at first, they appear to be a translucent black, then maybe they have a blue tinge? Then you realize it's a teal-green, maybe? Whatever, I love the morion because it looks so great with the lighter Swarovski crystals.

The lampwork bracelet below has gorgeous lampwork with a partially pink opal look to it. Swarovski's pink crystals work well with them. The sterling silver disks are special beads I just received from Bali; they are completely covered with hand-decorated flowers. A Swarovski butterfly in pink hangs beside the toggle clasp.
The new gemstone bracelets posted are below. First, a smoky quartz bracelet made with some of Robin Weber's beautiful silver-laced lampwork beads. The faceted smoky quartz beads in this bracelet are especially pretty. Below, the smoky quartz bracelet are two bracelet sets (although they are sold separately, I will give a discount if you wish to buy them as a set). The first is a favorite gemstone of mine: sunstone. The sunstone bracelet and earrings are made with sparkling sunstones that glitter in the light - artificial or sunlight. The bracelet also features some more of those special sterling beads from Bali.

Finally, the amazonite jewelry that you see below is handmade from turquoise-blue amazonite of unusually even colour. Faceted teardrop earrings have special earwires with a rose decoration on the front. The bracelet has one of my favorite huge nuggets, faceted, as its focal; it is accented by lampwork beads by Suzette Celestin and sterling silver.

If you are considering buying handcrafted jewelry as a Christmas gift, now is the time to buy. You will avoid the worry of whether your gift will arrive on time, and you'll still have time to return it to get it resized or to exchange it if something isn't quite right.
Also, consider taking the pledge to "buy handmade" this holiday season. Go to Why Buy Handmade to learn how buying handmade articles can help the environment, the economy, and the satisfaction you receive when gift-giving.

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New blog on ebook reviewing

I love reading how to ebooks on making it online as a jewelry artist, or just making it online, period. I've learned a lot by reading such ebooks, be it for free, or paid for. I did post the other day a small review on one of the free ebooks I've got on online marketing, but then while digesting what I took with me from that ebook, I realised that having a blog that deals online with ebooks for jewelry artists, and for anybody who wants to sell something online, be it a product, or a service, is what I want to do. It will be geared towards another audience than my jewelry blog, which is for customers of my jewelry. While I might not be as proficient in giving the tips out myself, by having read a bunch of books on the subject, and having talked about them with friends on various online forums, I can pretty much offer a good insight of what the book is all about, whether it's worth your time (and money if it's not free), or it will save you some by ignoring it safely.
Thus my new blog, How-to ebook reviews was born. I will add regularly reviews, so keep checking back, as it will be worthwhile.

Etsy bragging

Today I am doing some Etsy bragging and showing some fabulous people off!! Since being not only on Flickr, Twitter and Etsy I have made some wonderful friends and met some really talented artists. Freya of Tiger Burning Bright is just one of many but she included me in her delicious looking Treasury. Freya's work is so inspirational to me ~ and with it she is such a lovely friend ~ I can highly recommend her Pastiche earrings I am wearing mine now :)
A Treasury, for anyone who isn't 'up' on Etsy and all its going ons, is a place to promote artists and sellers you really like ~ (Not good to put yourself in) I've been a few now and I have to say I really should show more of them off ~ sadly my way of getting a screenshot isn't great.

Leading me on to another seller ~
Babecakes 1011's shop is looking soo delicious I may even go to America just to try them out!! This one is the Lemon with Limon frosting and wow!! I could go on about all the wonderful cupcakes she has in her store but I would only depress myself with not being able to buy any!! I do urge anyone who is in the US or has family over there to treat yourself or them ~ then let me have some delightfully in details feedback!!

Enjoy!!
Finishing with my new Styled heart earrings ~ I have about 5 pairs left ~ they seem to be popular :)

Google for beaded jewelry!

On October, 17th, I discovered that the Google search for "beaded jewelry" returned 2,340,000 websites with MyLovelyBeads.com on the first place. I could hardly believe that! I checked out the same search criteria next day, in a week, in two weeks, but my website is still on the first position. I'm pretty excited!

Celebrating Beads, the journey of... Bead Gala

Celebrating Beads, the journey of... First Annual International Juried Jewelry Design Competition is over, bead artists from over 14 countries and 33 states participated in the contest. The culmination of the competition was The Passion for Beads Gala held at the Naval Heritage Memorial Center in Washington, DC on Saturday, September 20th, 2008. There I met one of my readers - The Lone Beader, and I was happy! We talked a lot and we are like old friends now!


The Lone Beader, an extraordinary bead embroidery artist from Boston, MA, and me

It was really exciting event, where the contest winners were announced, and the World Premier of Diana Friedberg's final documentary in her award winning series World on a String, Part V: A Passion for Beads took place. This documentary features bead makers and jewelry designers from around the world and was the perfect touch for that evening Celebrating Beads and the designers who make and use them.


Rafael Matias, California, USA, a guest artist from the documentary

I met many wonderful people at the Gala: four of contest jurors, editors from two national beading magazines, and a lot of contest participants. It was my first such an event, and I can say that the entire experience was necessary, fun, and interesting.


Slide show: The Passion for Beads Gala