Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Making Bead Soup!

So I was one of the lucky 200 that gets to be a part of the Bead Soup Blog Party put on by Lori Anderson.  She had way more people sign up than spots available and we were chosen randomly and paired with another artist to exchange a package of  "bead soup".  I am paired with Mandi Ainsworth who does beautiful seed bead work.  While I have done some seed bead work in the past, and I have a rather large stash of them, I only use them to make stuff for me.  Those tiny little suckers can make an old lady go blind!

I spent today in my studio making glass beads, some of which will be mailed to Mandi in the next few days along with some other surprises.  I can't wait to see what she puts together, and to see what she is sending me.

I have also been researching PMC3 and may add that to my growing list of crafty persuits.  I admit to being fascinated with making some of my own charms and dangles for my jewelry.  I was happy to see bronze clay and copper clay, but I'd need another kiln for that...Thanks to my friend Lisa Twombly I know where to get a small one at a great price Metal Clay Supply.

I'll be going to the IGBS with my friend Jody on Sunday.  As usual, I will spend more than I thought I would and find some new treasures that I wasn't looking for.  Looking forward to spending the day with her.


Friday, January 6, 2012

New Year/ New Shop

Whew!  I am cross eyed!  I have been spending the last week setting up 2 new shops on line, and will slowly fill them up with my current inventory.  You can find my designs at  Handmade Artist Shops Designs by Lynnea and Payvment which is on my Facebook Page just click the shop now tab on the right.  I picked these venues for several reasons....

Payvment offers me a way to allow my current Facebook friends and followers to shop without having to log into an external site.  And it is free!  No fees other that Paypal are involved.

I selected Handmade Artist Shops after getting to know the owner/developer Andrew Kitchen.  He started the Handmade Artists Forum and then went on to create the Handmade Artists Shops.  As I've chatted with him in various online forums, I have come to see his vision of a small boutique site that doesn't strive to compete with the big names, but wants to offer both the consumer and the artist a truly hand made experience.  I kind of got tired of getting lost in the mix on the bigger sites and the fees on top of fees that cut into the small profit I am trying to make.  He also works hard to promote our items as we list them and feature us as much as possible.  It is because of all the information he has given me that I now have a Twitter account @DesignsbyLynnea.  It has been an experience linking everything together in a giant circle!  But I hope by using all of his knowledge to continue on my artistic path this year.  Thanks Andrew!

I also want to give a shout out to Susan Adams.  She invited me to a group on Facebook called (originally) Artfire Link and also moderates It's Better Handmade.  She has been so open with all the knowledge she has to everyone in the group.  She changed the name to just Link group as some of us jumped off of Artfire to explore other options and didn't want to leave the group of people we have come to look to for feedback and support.  Most days my mind is spinning just trying to keep up with it all.

Top that off with going thru all my online photo albums and deleting really old work (much of it sold) because I want to focus on what my current aesthetic is.  Reworking my Facebook page/profiles was another thing since we now have timeline.  And somehow I squeezed in a class in kiln formed glass..uh oh... And don't forget my new obsession Pinterest which strangely enough ties it all together too.!

So 2012 is going to be an interesting year, I actually will just do like I always do...be true to myself, make what I love and just keep swimming!