Hotter than...

you can fill it in for yourself. It's supposed to get to 98 here today with a heat index of 117. That's just unheard of in Minnesota!

My first custom order was delivered today and the customer was thrilled, which made me so very happy. In a small way, it makes me feel a little bit better about everything. Trying to sell online is discouraging at times. The only way to measure feedback is by sales and I haven't had many of those yet. So, I feel a little more reassured and confident by the customer loving the custom orders.

Taking a little break today from jewelry making and photography to do some other things. So far today, I've made two loaves of zucchini bread. Next on the list is canning tomatoes! Then tomorrow, it's back to photography. I have so much stock to get posted in my shop it's crazy.

Lazy Sunday

Aren't Sunday afternoons the perfect time to be lazy? I haven't done much today. Took some pictures, but haven't edited them or posted them yet. I spent most of the day yesterday updating my Etsy shop and am really pleased with how everything is coming along.

I'm feeling less stressed about the photography aspect of selling online, which is great. That means I am actually starting to have a little fun with it.

I have signed up to do some more auctions on Facebook, as well as  give away. The item for give-away is pictured below :

I think it's a really fun piece. The light purple really sparkles in the light... almost iridescent. The item is going to be up at QT Pie Creations real soon.

And right now... I have 2 items up for auction at my friend Jeraly's. You should check out her fan auction!

Featured Artist Friday

is postponed until next week. My first victim... I mean spotlight artist seems to be having some internet problems, so we haven't been able to connect to get the questions answered.

On another note, it is rainy here and it's making me super sleepy.

Sorry guys! I'm really bummed about not getting this article posted today.

Tomorrow...

is the first Featured Artist Friday. I am very excited about it. I have also gotten three more artists that have agreed to participate. I think it will be fun to get to know some of the artists a little bit better.

Hoping for good weather tomorrow so I can get some more photography done. Posting my favorite from yesterday below:

I love the greens in this bracelet. I think they are very pretty and I love how it photographed on the map background.

Photography

I am feeling a little more comfortable with it now. I tried again today. One friend says its still too dark, but everyone else seems to think its okay. I am going to buy a cheap tripod because I'm still getting a little blurring, but overall its better.

Posting a few of todays shots below:

First Custom Order

So, I received my first custom order, which is super exciting! But I'm also a little nervous about it. The lady gave me pictures of 2 pairs of earring she likes. One pair, I can get pretty close to (I think). They are a drop earring with a fleur-de-lis in the middle. She wanted them in gold instead of silver, which proved complicated. I could not find a gold fleur-de-lis link for this item, so I am planning to improvise on this and hope it goes well.

The other pair she requested are silver and abalone. The picture she sent shows silver twists with abalone at the very bottom. She said she just wants silver and abalone together. I hope she likes what I have planned. I placed the order and threw in a few extra things I've been drooling over.

I will be sure to post pictures when I'm done.

On a side note, I got a new camera in the mail and have been working on photography. Its slow going!

Craft Show

I know it's been awhile since I posted and I'm sorry for neglecting my readers. I participated in a craft show on the 4th of July in the very small town in which I live. There were tons of people there and traffic to my booth was decent. However, my sales were lackluster. People commented heavily on how pretty or beautiful or nice my stuff was, but they never even looked at the price tags. They just weren't there to shop.

My one saving grace was the ton of stretchy bracelets I had made to sell for $1. Those went like hotcakes to girls from 6 to 76. I do not think I will do this market again as it really just wasn't the right place for my goods. I noticed several other vendors who did not seem to make many sales either. I talked to one other jewelry vendor who said her sales were bad too. She also said I shouldn't have sold the bracelets so cheap. LOL

Below is a shot of my entire booth and my significant other, who sat with me all day to keep me company.

One thing I did learn from this craft show is to organize my earrings by price per level of the display piece. So, all in all, it wasn't a bad experience... just a long, hot day for not much profit. Other pics of my booth included below.