Meet Maggie!

Maggie is Maxine's daughter.

 Maggie has added a few items to our beaded collection. She has practiced beading with mom for a couple of years, making things for herself, but her jewelry box is getting full like moms.  Her items are listed on the Beading Branches site as well. Here are a few samples:

 

Necklace- Painted Glass Bead

 Clip Earrings - Classic Black and White Pearl Dangles

 Earrings - Blue and Red Melifloral and glass pearls

Clip-on Earrings - Green bead and Leaves

 

Meet Joe!

Joe is Maxine's son.

While home on break from West Point Joe's brother taught him how to do the survival bracelets.
Joe has practiced and come up with different styles and items to make with the cobra braid.  He finally feels ready to sell his items, so he has become a part of the shop.

This is his newest idea. The paracord is braided around a metal headband and he's added a brass button from an Army uniform to this one. 

This first one was in the Etsy shop for about 5 minutes before it sold. There are more on the way, as well as bracelets, key chains and anything else Joe can think of to make with the paracord.

So did you ever wonder why they are called survival bracelets? Basically because the paracord used to make them is the mil spec 550 cord and can be unbraided to be used for any number of things in a survival situation. Snare - to catch food. Tourniquet or to tie a splint. To make shelter.   You get the idea. The great thing is that you have this fabulous accessory to wear comfortably until you might need it. :)  

STATTEAM SPOTLIGHT! is shining on US!

We've been spotlighted by the STATTEAMONETSY blog.  I have enjoyed the teams on Etsy so far and really love how the various artists come together and promote each other and their shops. When one gets spotlighted the rest of the team members build treasuries featuring one of the spotlighted shops items and then mixes it together with items from other shops. There is a theme of color or idea and the result is a lot of very beautiful treasuries. I am putting them here to give an idea of just how different each one can be depending on the artist who puts it together. Enjoy these treasuries, each one featuring an item from our shop.
Thank You!

Brass and Glass

First I made a bracelet:

 And I love it because it jingles when I wear it.
I made the first one for me. I have a 9mm and a .38 that I have practiced with and it gives me a lot of brass to work with.

Then on to a pair of earrings. Now I'm having fun right... oh yes.

And the best part, even the husband has started to think this beading stuff is kind of neat. :)  Is it love or the shells???  Either way is ok with me. :) I can't wait to get the rest of the brass ready so I can make some more.

We've been featured in another BNR... take a look and if you are an Etsyian play along. :)

Our First Feature in a BNR

We've been featured in our first BNR!  I've been involved with the STATTEAM for just a bit now and am really excited about some of the things they are getting me into.  I am still getting acquainted with how it all works but so far it's a hoot. :)  Here is a blog with the info I have on BNR's, for the newbies like me: 

http://statteamonetsy.blogspot.com/p/treasuries-bnrs-and-bnss-and-shmetsy.html

Here is the treasury we've been featured in: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTk3NzYyOHwyNzIyOTI4Mzk0/ooo-sneak-previewstatteam-bnr-ooo

Enjoy!

Oh What a Tangled Web we Weave... Contest 1

Anyone else feel overwhelmed at times? Nah, I'm sure it's just me... between the kids, the hubs, the schooling, and then the bead work I sometimes forget that some of that is supposed to be FUN! I would like to put a little more fun in my life so I've decided to put up a little contest of sorts.  Your best tip for marketing handmade wears, a tip that won't have me pulling out my hair,  in exchange for a chance at a pair of earrings. What do you think? We can decide which ones later but here are some samples of my work....

Well, if you don't like the idea, that makes it easy. OTOH if you like the idea then leave your best idea in my comment box and everyone who does will be entered in the drawing. And because it drives me absolutely NUTS when I can't find a deadline easily here's mine:  

June 30, 2012

Now my blog is not the most read thing on the block as of yet, but that is good news for you - gives you a better chance at getting those earrings. And the good news for me is I will test my skills at getting more people driven to my blog... Win win.

Don't forget to share with your friends. And leave an email address where I can get in touch with you should you be the lucky winner.

From Maxine

As we have indicated we do put some of the profits from Beading Branches to community service. I, Maxine, send out boxes with a wonderful group of ladies the West Point Moms Bake. Each month we send a package of baked goods and other goodies to soldiers who have been deployed. The letters we get back are just amazing.
This month my efforts will be focused on, not one soldier, but on an entire base. Here is a story on the attack on the FOB in eastern Afghanistan.
Here is a picture of their PX after the attack:

Thankfully NO US soldiers were killed but due to this attack, MRE's are what they can look forward to eating for some time. Except that they have the WPMoms on their side. Some have already sent their packages, mine will be going out soon, and I hope to be sending quite a few. I want our customers to know that we appreciate you, because of you we are able to do more. Thank you.

Here another mom talks very eloquently about our mission and this particular base. 
Stiletto Momma: Operation: Comfort and Care Packages

Etsy Treasury Widget

I found a lovely widget for Etsy treasuries. It allows you to create a snapshot of your treasury so that you can put it anywhere...  You can get your widget here: Etsy Treasury Widget
Here is a treasury I put together:

Etsy Treasuries

It has come to my attention that a lot of people don't know what Etsy is. Wow, ok, I feel a little technologically advanced just for a split second... Yup, done with that. Whew. 

So Etsy is a place where crafters, artisans, and vintage sellers can go to sell their wares. On the flip side of that Etsy is a place where consumers can go to support the aforementioned folks and find the perfect something for the perfect someone on any occasion. And for the perfect price - from the very extravagant budget to the very frugal. Interest peaked yet?  ETSY

Don't forget to visit my store while you are there. BEADING BRANCHES (hey this is my blog, I reserve the right to be shameless with my promotion. :)

Speaking of shameless promotion if you direct your eyes for just a second to the right >>>> you will see some examples of our work. They have what is called a "mini" Etsy banner. I love it. :)

I have started to learn how to work the Etsy Treasuries. I am not sure they help... I mean I can see people looking at our site, and that is always a good thing, but I'm not seeing sales resulting from the clicks. Maybe I have just not given it enough time. In the meantime I am going to share my treasuries here in picture form. This is a screen shot of my lists, each treasury gives me enough room for 16 items. In the picture below you see a sample of 4 for each treasury.

If anything looks interesting to you please go to THIS LINK and check out the artist involved.

There are some fantastic artists on Etsy, along with vintage items. The prices vary, depending on the artist, however from what I have seen you will not have a problem finding something in any price range for just about any person. Please think to look there before going to a department store. I promise you will find something unique and fantastic for any occasion.

If you like the way the treasuries look, once you are in Etsy go to the "buy" link and do a search by "treasury" then type in a keyword or two. Or you can browse them.

The treasuries are addictive, making them, looking at them, searching for more... but I can think of a lot worse things to be addicted to.

Ok, so now GO and have some FUN! If you like what you've seen, leave me a comment. Thanks. :)

Always Learning

I am beginning to HATE photography. Taking pictures of jewelry (like anything else I imagine) has it's quirks, the light has to be perfect, the stage has to be nice, and you have to try and appeal to your audience.  I thought I had it all figured out. Here is an example of my props: 

In the shade but with natural light. See how it kind of has a gray cast to it. Well on one or two pictures that tends to be ok BUT when all your pictures have it... not so much. 

Here is an example of a necklace done in this setting: 

Nice but gray. so I tried it in full sun: 

Nice but I'm not crazy about how stark the shadows are in full sun, not to mention the glare. 

So I was pointed in the direction of Gimp photo editing. It is free and you can use it online or download it. 

Here is the finished product via shade but edited slightly: 

I like this. Not gray, not to "BAM" with the shadows, and you can see in all three the colors pretty much stay the same. I am going to have to get use to the photo editing because it can get a little crazy too. For example: 

As you can see all photo editing is not good. :)  That was an exaggerated example, but it is funny how you can go from editing to improve and editing to the extreme if you are not careful, or if you've been at it too long.  

So what I have learned is that pictures in the shade of natural light is good, but you may have to "tweek" it just a bit so that it does not look like a haze. 

Yes, I still think I am hating photography, but I can get along with it I guess.

Something Special in our Custom Items: Coming Soon

You can see our available items on our Etsy Site. What I wanted to show you today is a couple of items I'm working on getting up there for custom orders. Custom orders are more difficult, because my "vision" and the customers "vision" might not match, and frankly NEITHER will match the end result perfectly.

I'm working on this:

  as an item to be framed. I imagine color schemes will be discussed and a digital picture will be necessary so that I can print it out and use for the piece.

This came about because my mom does not wear jewelry, and I wanted to do something special for her.  The woman in the picture is my great grandmother. My mom and I do genealogy (mom more than me really) and this woman has held a fascination for both of us. She disappeared in the 20's with her youngest daughter and has been impossible to locate by record. It just so happens that we have this beautiful picture of her.  I did the bead embroidery around the picture and put it in a shadow box frame.

The price range for this in an 8" x 10" shadowbox frame will start at $180.00.

For a less expensive alternative and something you can wear I have this:

 The picture in this is about 1 1/2" x 2", surrounded by beads and will have a chain, or ribbon necklace with other embellishments. Again I will need a digital copy of a picture. Beginning price range for this will be $80.00.

Introductions

              We ARE Beading Branches. We have had and will have guest beaders in our shop, but Coleen and I are the main designers, and beaders. Our shop was formed when the two of us decided we were beading at a rate that would soon have us buried in bead work if we didn't find a way to sell some of it. We both have some very ambitious ideas and thought this would be the best way to make every one happy. 

           

               Coleen is a stay at home mom of 4 busy boys. She has her heart set on starting a non profit organization that will help chronically ill moms manage their day to day lives when they find they are just out of every thing it takes to run a home. Of course their families can help, and then there are friends and church family. But when one is chronically ill it is difficult for them to keep asking friends and family for help. Long term illness has a mind of it's own. Some days are better than others, so Coleen's idea is to have people who call be called on when they are needed, for what ever task might be too much of a stress at the time. 

                Maxine is a stay at home mom of 6 busy children of her own. Her heart has led her to being baking for our soldiers overseas with the fantastic West Point Moms Bake group. At present she is sending one or two packages out per month, but would like to expand on that. Our soldiers are away from home and family and LOVE to receive packages from "home", no matter who's home it's from. Baked goods are a special treat, and just to know they are being thought of is a great boost.

                On our Etsy site you will see many different items and different styles of beading and bead work. It is our pleasure to create gorgeous items for our customers. It is our goal to bless our families and our communities with the profits.

                 As for this blog it will be a place where we can share with you what we are learning along the way.  We are also on facebook and twitter. Like us / follow us there for specials and previews.