Black Friday Weekend Sale!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am having a great Black Friday Weekend Sale!

I will be offering 20% Off all items in my Stocking Stuffers section and 50% Off Everything Else.

Clearance items are included in sale.

http://gailavira.etsy.com

After midnight EST Cyber Monday, my shop will revert back to the "theme of the week" half off sale running now till New Year's Day.

Must put "happy holidays" in notes to seller to receive discount.

You have 3 ways to get your discount:
Purchase and pay as usual and I will refund the difference.
OR
Purchase and wait for a revised invoice before paying.
OR
Send me a convo stating which items you want and I will create a reserved listing just for you.

Discounts do not apply to shipping fees.

Ahhh.... I finally got my fix!

You know how it is when you run out of your last little bit of wire, right? You get cold sweats, anxiety attacks, then the nausea sets in, and the aches and pains, and.....

Well, ok, it's not really that bad. But it is pretty hard on you when you are used to being able to work on a project any time you want to, then you realize you're out of what you need for that project.

I just went through three weeks without any wire at all. Usually I don't let that happen. Things had just been so crazy here for a while that I didn't get a chance to order it. It was absolute agony!

I have to wonder though, did going without wire for so long really hurt me as much as it felt like it did. When you consider what I was inspired to do after not working on anything for those weeks, I'd say it did me a lot of good.


Tempest

It took me a total of 11 hours to make this necklace. All the findings, including the toggle clasp and the coiled spacer beads, were made completely by hand. If you would like to see more pictures of this necklace, you can find this item in my Etsy shop, http://gailavira.etsy.com.

New Tutorial! Woven Front Pendant

Available in my Tutorial Shop on Etsy!

This tutorial teaches you how to make a simple, but very attractive pendant with a woven front. Once you learn the basic technique, there is no end to the ways you can customize this pendant.

Skill Level:
Intermediate

Materials needed:
*1 35mm x 25mm rectangle bead
*2 3½” pieces of 20g round wire
*1 7½” 20g round wire
*8’ 28g round dead soft wire

Tools needed:
*Flush cutter
*Round nose pliers
*Flat nose pliers
*Needle file or wire rounder

© Donna Spadafore, Gailavira Jewelry
You may use this tutorial to make jewelry for sale. If you do so, please link back to Gailavira Jewelry ( http://www.gailavira.com or http://gailavira.blogspot.com ) in the item description.

Click here to go to my Tutorial Shop on Etsy!

Just a Quick Update...

Right now I'm trying to get my store stocked up again for the holidays. I have lots of great items in there, but with the economy the way it is right now, I want to start offering some less expensive pieces again too. I'm not one of those snobs that thinks all jewelry worth buying has to cost an arm and a leg. *s*

I'm also having sales every week between now and New Years. Each week, for the whole week, a different type of item will be 50% off. Last week was all copper jewelry. This week is all pink jewelry. Each week, to find the sale items, just do a search in the form at the top of the home page of my etsy shop (http://gailavira.etsy.com) for the keyword given in my shop announcement. Everything that comes up on the search will be sold at half the listed price. Just follow the directions in my shop announcement to receive your discount.

I'm also busy coming up with new designs for tutorials. I've done three new ones over the past week and a half (see my tutorial shop, http://gailaviratutorials.etsy.com, to see all my newest tutorials). Also, if you see something in my jewelry shop that you would like to learn how to make, don't hesitate to ask for a tutorial. I love to do tutorials by request. If it is one of my own designs, I will do my best to get a tutorial out for it. If it isn't one of my own designs, I'll let you know where you can find a tutorial by someone else for that design.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!

New Tutorial! 2 in 1 Filigree Style Bracelet

Available in my Tutorial Shop on Etsy!

This tutorial teaches you how to make a filigree style bracelet using wire wrapped cold connections.

Included in this lesson is a way to modify the basic bracelet to include a frame to support a large focal bead or cabochon. This portion of the tutorial only includes instructions for the frame. You will need to decide what method to use to attach the stone to the frame. In the second picture, the bracelet on the left side was made using techniques taught in the Dance Around the Sun tutorial. The bracelet on the right was made with a netted bezel.

Skill level:
Advanced

Material List:

* 7 2” pieces of 16g round wire
* 2 7” pieces of 16g round wire
* 32’ 26g round wire
* 2 3½” pieces of 16g round wire (optional)
* Round focal stone (optional)

Tool List:

* Flush cutter
* Round nose pliers
* Flat nose pliers
* Needle file or wire rounder
* Bracelet Mandrel

© Donna Spadafore, Gailavira Jewelry
You may use this tutorial to make jewelry for sale. If you do so, please link back to Gailavira Jewelry ( http://www.gailavira.com or http://gailavira.blogspot.com ) in the item description.

Click here to go to my Tutorial Shop on Etsy!

Crinkled Rosette Ring Tutorial

Available in my Tutorial Shop on Etsy!

This tutorial teaches you to make a cute little ring with a crinkle edged rosette out of woven wire.

Skill Level:
intermediate

Cost:
$6.00

Materials needed:
• 1 4mm round bead
• 2 8” pieces of 20g round dead soft wire
• 9’ 28g round dead soft wire

Tools needed:
• Flush cutter
• Round nose pliers
• Flat nose pliers
• Needle file or wire rounder
• Ring Mandrel

© Donna Spadafore, Gailavira Jewelry
You may use this tutorial to make jewelry for sale. If you do so, please link back to Gailavira Jewelry ( http://www.gailavira.com or http://gailavira.blogspot.com ) in the item description.

Click here to go to my Tutorial Shop on Etsy!


If you would like to be notified when new tutorials are released, add Gailavira Jewelry to your MySpace Friends List. Bulletins are sent out for each new tutorial.
Http://www.myspace.com/gailavirajewelry

New Tutorial! Wide Bail Pendant

Available in the tutorials section of my Etsy shop!

This tutorial teaches you how to make an extra wide bail for a pendant. These are great for pendants you want to put onto thick necklace cords, ribbon, or even Viking knit chains.

Please keep in mind that when making the neck cord, you must put the pendant on before finishing off the second end of the cord. Otherwise the end of the cord may not fit through the pendant.

This tutorial uses a simple briolette bead to show you how to make the bail. However, this technique can be used on any pendant with a frame that has two wires coming together to make the bail.


Skill Level:
Easy

Cost:
$4.00

Material List:

10" of 20 gauge wire (dead soft or half hard)
Approximately 7’ 28 gauge dead soft wire
1 medium sized briolette bead


Tool List:

Wire Cutters
Flat Nose Pliers
Needle File or Wire Rounder
Mandrel or other round object approximately 1/8" (3.5mm) in diameter

© Donna Spadafore, Gailavira Jewelry
You may use this tutorial to make jewelry for sale. If you do so, please link back to Gailavira Jewelry ( http://www.gailavira.com or http://gailavira.blogspot.com ) in the item description.

Click here to go to the tutorials section of my Etsy shop!


If you would like to be notified when new tutorials are released, add Gailavira Jewelry to your MySpace Friends List. Bulletins are sent out for each new tutorial.
Http://www.myspace.com/gailavirajewelry

New Tutorial! Beaded Wire Cross Pendant

Available here: http://www.gailavira.com/tutorials
(scroll to the bottom of the page for free tutorials)

This tutorial teaches you to make a beautifully simple beaded cross pendant. The finished sized of the cross will be approximately 1" wide and 2" long.

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.