Author: Sarah Jordan

Software engineer by day, jewelry designer by night. International woman of mystery. Leaps tall buildings in single bounds. Rescues kittens. Eats her vegetables.
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Crafter Central weekend showcase

Great news!  My Etsy shop will be featured in an online showcase hosted by the friendly folks at Crafter Central from Saturday, March 14 to Sunday, March 15.  The showcase will highlight ten artists and their unique handmade products.  The best part about a virtual craft fair is that you don’t have to feel self conscious about shopping in your pajamas!

Crafter Central weekend showcase door prize

To thank customers for visiting the showcase and for spreading the word on social media, I will be offering this pair of earrings as a door prize to one lucky winner.  Watch for my blog post on Saturday to learn how to enter the door prize drawing.

Crafter Central weekend showcase door prize

In designing these earrings, I wanted to play with a fresh minty green and teal blue color palette rather than my typical purples, pinks, and reds.  This pair is made with 8 mm mint alabaster Swarovski crystal cubes, 6 mm blue zircon Swarovski crystal bicones, and silver plated spacers, headpins, and earwires.  Though not shown here, I will also include two flexible clear plastic ear nuts to keep the earrings securely in place.

Crafter Central weekend showcase door prize

After the showcase has ended, I will contact the winner for his or her mailing address and will ship out the earrings as quickly as possible.  Please visit the Crafter Central online showcase this weekend to see all of the featured artists and their amazing work!

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5 reasons to buy handmade beaded jewelry

Handmade beaded jewelry

Handmade beaded jewelry makes a fantastic gift for yourself or a loved one.  This Overstock.com guide provides five reasons to choose handmade beaded jewelry over commercially manufactured pieces.  I don’t know about you, but having more reasons to buy handmade jewelry never hurts!

My personal philosophy is that if I can’t make it myself, I will seek out a unique, one of a kind jewelry gift from another artist.  I enjoy working with the artist to develop a custom piece because I know that it will have special meaning for the recipient.  Perhaps it will become a favorite accessory that she will wear several times a week.  Or maybe she will love it enough to pass it along to a younger generation in the future.  Either way, she will appreciate the gift even more knowing that I had a hand in its design.

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Featured Friday – Past Your Porchlight

Past Your Porchlight

This week’s featured Etsy shop is Past Your Porchlight in Ontario, Canada.  I found this shop by complete accident while creating my Snowy treasury last week!  Shop owner Jessie Cunningham creates handmade soft sculptures and plush toys in the most adorable animal shapes.  Her items are made with a variety of materials including heirloom quality wool blend felt, polyester felt, faux fur, and deer suede.  I can’t help it – I’m totally in love with the badger sculpture above!  Visit her shop to learn more.

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Seeing spots!

Today’s Etsy treasury celebrates all things polka dot.  Each item in this collection is handmade in the USA.

Polka Dot Plush Easter Bunny Stuffed Animal Nursery Decor Pink Fuchsia White Fuchsia Polka Dots Wide Padded Zipper Pouch Gadget Case Cosmetics Bag - READY TO SHIP Baby bandana bib, baby bib, bandana bib, bibdana, baby shower gift, baby girl bib, drool bib, baby girl gift, red polka dot bib dog collar flower ,red polka dot flower ,dog collar accessory ,wedding dog flower
Bridesmaids clutch, gold bridesmaids gift ideas, gold cosmetic bag, gold wedding, gold polka dot, unique bridesmaids Orange Polka Dot Brag Book, Photo Album Display, Mini Scrapbook Album, Instagram Book, Premade Scrapbook Fall Dog Collar / Polka Dot Dog Collar / Thanksgiving Dog Collar / Orange Polka Dot Dog Collar Peel and Stick Pastel Orange Polka Dot Wall Decals | Long Life | Apartment Safe
Yellow Polka Dot Straws, Cute Straws, Fancy Drinking Straws, Yellow Drinking Straws, 25 Pack - Yellow Polka Dot Green Polka Dot Pillow - Premier Prints Green Dandie Dot Pillow - Decorative Pillow Throw Pillow Green White Polka Dot PIllow Cover 24 Green Polka Dot Cupcake Wrappers for Weddings, Engagement and Special Occassions Blue Polka Dot Fabric Button Earrings
Crossbody Bag, Hip Bag, Crossbody Purse, Crossbody Handbag, Hip Purse, Polka Dot Bag, Blue Purse, Blue Hip Bag, Letterboxing Bag Purple Polka Dots Light Switch Cover Girls Bedroom Decoration Radiant Orchid Decor Switchplate Switch Plate 1338 Purple Polka Dot Mug - Coffee Mug - Ceramic - Made to Order Dog Bow Tie- Fuchsia Polka Dot Bow Tie- More options available- dog collar accessory
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Crystal ball garland

A couple of years ago, I wanted to create a colorful and unique holiday gift for my sister in law.  I gathered all of the random 6 mm Swarovski crystal bicones that had been left over from previous projects and wove them into crystal balls using FireLine polyethylene beading thread.  I then strung the crystal balls and lots of silver lined clear glass seed beads onto Accuflex stainless steel beading wire.  I added a sterling silver jumpring at each end for attaching ornament hooks.  Check out the photo of the finished crystal ball garland below.  It is the perfect size for adorning a tabletop tree.

Swarovski crystal ball garland

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Snowy

My latest Etsy treasury is inspired by the arctic weather that New England is experiencing right now.  Wind howling outside, thermometer at 2 degrees, BRRR …

Large Snowy Owl Plush, Stuffed Owl, Stuffed toy, Owl Stuffed Animal, Cute owl plushie etsy Ivory Scarf, Snow White Alpaca Herringbone, Classic Rustic Urban Cottage Cabin Chic, Mens Womens Formal Wedding Fashion, Artisan Handwoven Reversible faux fur/ satin embroidered childrens hat, available in pink or white New Year Sale Snowflake Bracelet - Sterling Silver Snowflake Jewelry - Winter Jewelry - Snowflake Charm - Christmas Gift - Sterling Snowflak
Faux Fur Winter Wedding Bolero Jacket Shrug Style A and regular size muff handwarmer Available in variety of faux furs Snowy Woods (2) Original Painting Snowman Cards - Holiday Card Set for Winter or Christmas in Ivory or White CREAM POWDER PUFF - winter white - ivory bath pouf - creme blanc - gift boxed
Winter White Stained Glass Bird Suncatcher Chick Ornament Woodland Decor Snowflake Garland Shimmer White holiday decoration Winter White Linen Scarf, Hand Dyed Scarf, Off White Linen Scarf, Ecru Scarf, Summer Beach Wedding Shawl, Lightweight Minimalist White Scarf Winter Photo, Single Tree, Snowy Scene, Ice Storm, Winter Beauty
FAUX FUR Adult HAT with luscious soft white beaver fur, Snow white fur hat, Women's Fur Hat Let It Snow Banner, Christmas Sign, holiday decorations, holiday sign, Christmas banner, holiday banner, winter decor, let it snow sign Snow Queen Velvet Hooded Capelet Bride's Cape 16" Sterling Silver Snowflake Necklace, Snowflake Necklace, Silver Snowflake Jewelry
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Brand spanking new!

Over the past two months, I’ve spent countless hours working on my Etsy shop.  It’s exhausting!  From adding photos to freshening up descriptions to tweaking tags and titles for better search placement, my head spins from it all!  I’m crossing my fingers that this enormous effort will lead to greater visibility for my shop, especially in the super saturated jewelry category.  It’s just so hard to be found in a sea of other pieces!!  I also listed several new products recently that I thought you might like to see.

Blue green crystal earrings

Volcano crystal earrings

These super sleek dangle earrings are perfect for the modern woman.  The slender Swarovski crystal pendants sparkle beautifully in a rainbow of rich colors.  They are attached to sterling silver fishhook earwires using antiqued sterling silver ice pick bails.  I love the minimalist design of these earrings!  They would be a lovely addition to any wardrobe.

I’ve also branched out into other handmade categories so as not to have all of my eggs in one basket :)  These super cozy hooded wool scarves are my latest creations.

Navy blue and gray hooded wool scarf

I invented them because I hate wearing hats, but you do need something to cover your head in the middle of a blizzard.  They are excellent alternatives to the dreaded hat because they don’t squeeze your brain or crush your hair, but they do keep your head sheltered and dry.

Each hooded scarf is fully reversible with a different color of wool on each side.  Flip the scarf back and forth to match the color of your coat, gloves, or other clothing as you like.

Red and black hooded wool scarf

The two layers of all natural, premium wool are soft to the touch and provide medium weight warmth.  I like to wear my own hooded scarf while clearing snow off the car because it keeps the blustery winds from going down my neck and giving me a chill.

I chose to use wool in these scarves because wool is much less prone to static than artificial fibers, so your hair won’t be (too) crazy after wearing it! I designed the shape of the hood to be deep enough to wear over a ponytail or bun and still cover your head but not so deep as to fall over your face when your hair is down.

Red and gray hooded wool scarf

I hope that you’ve enjoyed seeing my latest work!  Please comment below or visit my Etsy shop to learn more.

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The triumphant return

The triumphant return

Well, to tell you the truth, I’m not sure how triumphant it really is :)  But, it is a return nevertheless!

When all was calm and still

So why have I been radio silent for the past three months?  No, I wasn’t lazing around, eating bon bons all day (though little chocolate treats do seem to find me a lot more often than they should).  I had temporarily placed my blog on hiatus so I could focus on promoting my handmade jewelry and accessories through the big social media outlets.  I realized that I needed to grow my lists of followers and establish more regular communication with those followers, so I concentrated all of my efforts on upping my Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+ games.  I definitely gained some new fans, but the push to get my name and my products out there never really ends.  I have to work at it every single day.

A glutton for punishment

Then, I did something that I swore I would never do — I opened a Twitter account.  Actually, I opened two of them (one for personal use and one for the business).  Oh, the horror!!  I had been avoiding Twitter up until that point because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to devote enough time to it to make it successful.  It would have become just one more site to manage in an already frenzied social media soup.  But, so many independent artists recommend using Twitter that I simply couldn’t ignore it any longer.  Into the depths of Twitter I went!  A little late, but there you have it.  You can see my most recent tweets along the right sidebar of this page.

I also spent some time tweaking this site in the interim.  I installed a new theme, added plugins, and began setting up the bones of my very own online store.  For several years, Etsy has been the primary venue for showcasing my wares, but their recent policy changes have created an unfavorable selling environment for small shops such as mine.  I need to explore different options so I can decide whether or not to take matters into my own hands.

Ready to rock

Now, it’s finally time to get back into the blogging business, so here I am!  Thank you for your patience, my apologies for the disappearing act, and I’ll do my best to keep things under control from this point on!

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Fall 2014 Pantone fashion color report

The Pantone fall 2014 fashion color report introduces the top ten women’s fashion colors for the coming season.

Fall 2014 Pantone fashion color report