Ophelia

I'm so pleased with these, my newest design. I received the little coral flowers last week, and have been mulling over ideas ever since. Then one night it kind of came to me in a burst of inspiration as I lay in bed running through possibilities in my head. I went to my office, grabbed a post-it note, and sketched out my design so I could get to sleep. The next morning I made these.... I think they're so pretty, I've made them my new Etsy avatar.

Serendipity

Most of the time, when I list a new item in my Etsy shop, I like to take a quick peek at the Time Machine 2 to see how my photo looks. I want to make sure I picked the right first image, and that it looks good in the smaller, thumbnail size. The funny thing is, I've begun to notice a pattern. And it's odd to say "pattern," as the Time Machine 2 is completely random. It simply shows recently listed items, in the order they were listed. But what I've noticed is that more often than not, whatever piece of jewelry I've just listed seems to...coordinate...with all of the other items around it. Isn't that weird?! So I've saved a few of these, so you won't think I'm just making this up. Here goes:

Pink:

Orange:
Flowers:

Fuchsia:

What Not To Wear

Taking good pictures is absolutely crucial in selling jewelry online. Buyers can't touch your items when they're browsing your online shop: they can't see the gems sparkle as they turn a piece in the light; they can't feel a chain to gauge its heft or delicate construction; they can't try pieces on and see how the colors compliment their skin tone. It's up to us jewelry sellers to go that extra mile and make sure our pictures are top notch in every way. The color has to be spot on, the light just right, the perspective interesting.

So imagine my dismay when I uploaded my latest batch of pictures, and something just didn't seem...right. It was most noticeable in pictures of my new London blue topaz pendant necklace. There was a sickly pinkish glow all around it, and as I looked closely, I thought I saw...are those...letters?...reflected in the gem? And then I remembered. The day I took these pictures I was dressed to go to the gym, wearing...a pink t-shirt! And can you tell what brand it is? (See the extreme close-up below to test your brand-name identification skills. Hint: the Beastie Boys rock this, never rock Fila).

Needless to say, I re-shot all of the pictures I took while wearing that darn pink t-shirt. The attire this time? A nice, plain, white tee. From now on, that will be my "uniform" when taking pictures of my jewelry. Lesson learned.

Before (note the salmon pink glow):

Close-Up (but what does it say?!):


After:

Curly Queue

My latest assortment of curled headpins for my unofficial Ancient Greece series. The shape and hammered finish are inspired by thoughts of goddesses: warrior or otherwise. I always get confused about which are the Greek deities, and which are the Roman. But here are just a few.... There are the obvious ones, of course, that everybody knows: Diana, goddess of the moon and the hunt; Venus, goddess of love and beauty; Athena, goddess of wisdom and handicrafts. But here are some others you may not recognize: Demeter, goddess of fertility; Hera, goddess of marriage; Artemis, goddess of the hunt; Pomona, goddess of fruit trees; Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war. In coming days I'll post pictures of some of the jewelry I've made using these pins.

Citrus Fix

Well, I guess orange is in the air. On Tuesday, I made these earrings:


Then on Wednesday, a surprise gift came in the form of a box full of Honeybell oranges:


Then today, for a few glorious hours, Etsy's front page was this:


Mere coincidence? Or a message from the cosmos? You decide.

Resolved

I don't usually go in for New Year's Resolutions (who keeps them, anyway, right?). But this year, I made one: start a blog for Double Blossom. So, 10 days later, here I am! This blog is where I'll post notes and pictures of interest to me (and hopefully you), focusing mainly on two of my favorite things: my handmade jewelry, and Etsy.com. I'm a big fan of handmade goods, and I plan to highlight tons of it here. I'll kick things off with this picture of a felt bird ornament by the wonderful Lupin. I bought a handful of these to give as gifts last year, and kept this little lovely for myself. I think she brightens the tree quite nicely. Here's to a great 2008!