Two New Tutorials!

I actually released these two tutorials last week. Can you believe I forgot to post it in my blog?

Twisty -Woven Bangle Bracelet Tutorial



This tutorial teaches you to make a playfully fun and flirty bangle bracelet.




Rosebud Earrings



This tutorial teaches you how to make a simple, but very beautiful, pair of earrings.

They are called “Rosebud” earrings because, with the briolette beads, they look like upside down rosebuds.


Both tutorials are available in my Etsy Shop!

p.s. I've lowered the prices on all my tutorials!

Please Excuse the Mess

Last spring I decided to start taking all my product photos on a black background with a purple rose. The pictures actually turned out great (really dramatic), but my sales dropped drastically. Of course, part of that drop is due to the season (summer is very slow for me anyway), but I'm sure another reason sales dropped is the photos. I have heard from several people lately that it is difficult to make out the details in the jewelry on such a dark background.

So, over the next week or two, I will be taking new photographs and updating all of my etsy listings. This means that while I am editing all my listings things will look a bit messy.

Supplies for Beginners

Since I have started selling tutorials I have received many e-mails asking me where to get supplies for suitable for making the items in my tutorials. It's great that so many people are wanting to learn to make wire jewelry now! However, for those just starting out, it can be difficult finding the right suppliers. These are a few of my favorite suppliers that I found when I first started making wire jewelry. Most of these places have very reasonable prices. Perfect for those of you who are just starting out, or who are doing this as a hobby.


Wire Suppliers


For craft wire, the best place I have found is http://www.widgetsupply.com. They carry 16, 20 and 26 guage wire in many colors. This wire is gret for learning on. It's inexpensive and easy to work with. JUst make sure you are getting the enameled copper wire (they also carry coated aluminum floral wire which does not work for jewelry).


For Silver Filled wire I used to go to http://www.thebeadfactory.com. Silver Filled wire is a tube of silver that has been filled with copper, then heat and pressure treated to create a stronger bond than that used for silver plated wire. It's a great way to get the look of sterling silver for a lot less and it lasts a lot longer than silver plate. This is what I used for all of my jewelry until I was making enough sales to be able to afford Sterling Silver wire on a permanent basis.


For Sterling Silver wire, I cannot say enough good things about http://www.monsterslayer.com. They carry great quality products at wonderful prices. Another good thing about them, is you can buy as much or as little wire as you need. They also carry Gold Filled wire.


For Brass and Copper http://www.monsterslayer.com has a great selection.


For Niobium (excellent for people with metal sensitivities), Titanium, Stainless Steel, and many other types of wire, I go to http://www.theringlord.com. They mostly cater to chainmaillers, so most of the wire is half hard or full hard. They do also carry dead soft craft wire in 19, 20, and 22 guage.


Tools


http://www.lottadisplays.com has pliers at very good prices. They aren't the best quality, but if you are not sure if this is something you want to keep doing, or if this is just a hobby, their economy priced pliers are a great way to go. I am actually still using some of the pliers I bought from here, and they've lasted quite a while.


http://www.monsterslayer.com has all kinds of tools in many different price ranges.


Beads


http://www.firemountaingems.com has a wide range of beads in all sorts and sizes. Their less expensive gemstone beads are not always uniform in size, but if you like the more organic looking pieces, like I do, they are perfect. They also have flat rate $5.00 shipping (for USA only) with a handling fee of $2.85.


There are also some great shops on Etsy that have lots of beads. I've often found excellent deals for really great stones there. One of my favorite Etsy sellers for beads is http://doubleddesign.etsy.com.

Another great Etsy shop for beads is http://thebeadyeye.etsy.com
Or you can click on the links below to go to a site wide search for each type of bead.

Gemstone Beads

Glass Beads

Metal Beads

Handmade Lampwork Beads

Carry Me - Gemstone Point Cap Tutorial

I wanted a way to wrap gemstone point beads that didn't have the "been there, done that" feel to it. So, after playing around for a while I came up with this design.

The woven cap taught in this tutorial "carries" the stone in a beautiful, yet subtly graceful way.








As you can see from the last two photos, there are many ways to alter this tutorial to make your own, one of a kind, pendant.

This tutorial is available in the tutorials section of my Etsy shop.

Brand New Tutorial! Sensu - Adjustable Wire Ring Tutorial

Sensu
Adjustable Ring Tutorial
Click here for more information This design got it's name from a contest held on the forum here at Etsy. All 6 of the winners mentioned fans. I really liked the idea of Japanese fans, so instead of using the English name, I decided to use the Japanese word for folding fan, "Sensu" (one of the words I found anyway... hopefully it's correct). You can find this tutorial in the tutorials section of my Etsy shop.

What I've Been Working On...

It's been awhile since I put out a new tutorial. Well, it's not that I'm not working on any. I was planning on doing one for the pendant in this photo:


For more information, click on the photo.


I just need to get some more of those kind of beads before I can actually do the tutorial for it. I like to practice on a few items before actually putting together the tutorial. I did find some on Etsy yesterday for a really good price. Soon as they get here I'll get to work on that tutorial.

I'm also trying to come up with some new designs for rings and bracelets to do tutorials for. I think I came up with a pretty neat freeform woven ring last night. If I can duplicate it, or at least figure out how to get it close enough to the first one, I'll definitely do a tutorial for it. I'll try to get some pictures taken soon so I can put it up in my Deviant Art Gallery so you all can get a good look at it.

Of course, school is starting soon too. So for the next couple of weeks things are going to be pretty crazy. My daughter had been accepted to a school specifically for children with Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD. It would have been great for her, but since the school is out of our school district transportation is a big problem. Which means she has to go back to the same school she was in last year. I was looking forward to not having to do any serious school shopping this year, but now it looks like I have to jump in there at the last minute to get everything she'll need. Really not looking forward to dealing with the crowds of last minute shoppers. I hate crowds. But at least once school starts I'll have a lot more time to work on more jewelry and tutorials.

New Business Card Design!

I finally got around to designing a new business card. My old design just seemed a little outdated, and I wanted something to match my website a little better.





I also has some earring cards printed up to match the business cards.



I think this design matches my current jewelry style much better than my old ones. These aren't quite as boring either.

My Mother's Flower Garden

Over the last couple of years my mother has worked really hard to get her flowers just right. While I was hanging out at her house the other day I decided to try taking a few pictures of them just to see what kind of shots I could get. I was a bit surprised to see how well they turned out.

	These are "Black Eyed Susans". I love the contrast between the center and the petals.
	This is a close up of one of the Black Eyed Susans. I couldn't resist getting this shot.
	Yellow Tiger Lilly.
	Purple Rose of Sharon. This is actually my favorite flower.
	My daughter had been wanting me to get a good picture of a bee for her for quite a while. When I saw one land on this Purple Cone Flower I figured it would be the perfect shot. It's hard to tell on such a small picture, but on the larger one on my computer it looks like the bee is actually looking right at the camera.
	Here's another one of the bee on the Purple Cone Flower.
	White Hibiscus. Another one of my favorites. Of course, that could be because it is in the same family as the Rose of Sharon. *s*
	I had originally taken a picture of the whole flower, but I was most drawn to the center of this Red Lilly, so I decided to crop it real close. I love the detail of the pollen in this one.
	Another shot of the white Hibiscus.

Eventually I will have all the larger versions of these up in my DeviantArt gallery (sylva.deviantart.com).

The Heart of a Dancer

When I started on this necklace I had no idea in my head of what I wanted to work on. I began shaping the wire around the turquoise nuggets, then shaping more wire around that, and soon it looked like a heart. While I filled in the larger frame of the heart with tiny coral pebbles I began to think of people I knew a long time ago.



When I was younger, I used to dance. Every weekend I would be in the circle surrounded by people I cared about. Sometimes, I carried a fan in one hand with my shawl over my arm, and danced the traditional way. Other times, my shawl would be draped over my shoulders, like the wings of a butterfly, as I danced. And still, even when I did not have my regalia with me, I wore my shawl and danced anyway. As long as the drum played, I would dance. When I danced, my heart would fly.

So many years have passed since I was last able to dance. Through those years I have lost track of many of the people who surrounded me those days. The people who were as important to me as dancing was itself. The people who taught me so many things. People who knew that you cannot teach a child to live the right way without following the right path yourself. People who you knew that if they saw you stumble would not laugh turn their backs on you, but would give you their hand and help you up again. Never judging. Never hateful. Always there when you needed someone.

As this necklace took shape I began to wonder where everyone had gone to, so I looked up their names on the internet. Many of them, understandably, I could not find. Those I did find, I was only able to find because they are no longer with us.

As the years have gone by the old ones, the ones who taught so many of us what it is to really live, have slipped away, one by one. As I was reading their stories one thing remained clear. Their hearts always stayed strong.

This necklace is their story.

Finally Finished! Glory Donut Wrap Tutorial

This has been my most requested tutorial to date, so I decided to push everything else aside and work on just this. After hours of writing, re-writing and re-writing again, taking photos and editing them to the very last detail, typing and formatting the pdf file, it is finally ready! It's available in the tutorial section of my Etsy shop.



It's been long and hard trying to figure out how to word this tutorial. Getting the pictures at just the right angles was even harder. But it was totally worth it. I had a lot of fun working on this one, and laughed at myself a LOT too! I'm hoping whatever I decide to do next is just as much fun.

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http://www.gailavira.com
http://gailavira.etsy.com
http://gailavira.blogspot.com
http://sylva.deviantart.com