An Interview with Ginger Allman of the Blue Bottle Tree

by Staci Louise Smith

I know I have referenced her site a million times.  It's because she does her homework.  When Ginger posts to her blog with a review, new info, or a how to, I KNOW it has been tested and she has asked questions and contacted people who have used these products for years, and manufacturers..........she is thorough.  That is why I send anyone who is new to polymer, or has any kind of questions to her site.  

There is a lot of mis-information out there on the web.  In the age of You Tube and blogs, anyone can post a tutorial, even if its the first time they have done something.  I cringe when I read tutorials giving people mis-information.  I read them, and I know what they make won't last (like using too thin wire to make a bracelet or clasp, or not finishing ends of things, leaving pointy wire...not sealing things that go against skin....I could go on and on).  Or they say to varnish your polymer clay beads in nail polish (never ever ever do that ....please!!!!  Ginger has a few great posts on finishing your clay too!!)

http://thebluebottletree.com/varathane-best-polymer-clay-sealer/

http://thebluebottletree.com/seal-polymer-clay/

http://thebluebottletree.com/spray-sealer-for-polymer-clay/

Anyhow, you get the idea.  She is the real deal for solid info on polymer clay.  

Well, she did an interview with me for her blog.  I am honored, and it was a cool experience to be featured by her.  You can read it here.  

http://thebluebottletree.com/staci-louise-smith/

You all know I put my life out there through various social media outlets, but it was fun to answer some questions on things you may not have known about me.  Enjoy!

(and while you are there, take a peek around her site- there is so much information there- just amazing!)

October at the Beach and a Sea Glass Wire Tutorial

by Staci L. Smith

Every fall the hubs and I get away for weekend, to make our way to LBI NJ for a weekend away from the kids.  We go to Chowderfest, and I used to a sea glass festival there too.  However, I have since let the show go to spend the time with the hubs.  Well this year, a Nor -Easter with flooding canceled Chowderfest and plagued the island with HIGH winds and flooding.  We had rented a house, and decided to go anyhow.  It was fun and he and I enjoyed watching the ocean rage and being rained in.  It was sort of peaceful (except for the ever present wind howling).

(here is a video of the winds and sea, turn down the volume, its howling)

Because of the weather, we decided to go the next weekend as well and take the kids (this is the life of two self employed individuals- we can't plan anything and do last minute stuff all the time).  The weather was calling to be wonderful and we didn't do a week vacation this year, only a couple day trips to the beach.  Now, I love the beach.  To say my kids also love the beach is an understatement. 

(same beach a week later, huge difference, right?)

 I am so thrilled that they share of our love of beach combing, and just relaxing in the beauty of the shore.  We have come to love that little island, and October is my favorite month to go.  The beach is cooler, but the water is still warm.  NO crowds on the beach, and people are there fishing with cars on the beach, walking dogs or sitting with coolers of beer and watching the waves.  The entire vibe is different and everything slows down.

We had two days with the kids and it was wonderful.  Saturday we hit one end of the island, Holgate (both ends of the island are the BEST for beach combing you know!)  While beach combing with the family, I loved seeing the different things they each though of as treasure.  My youngest son, he finds the odd things- knife handles, pieces of old tools, plastic army men..........and each one holds some sort of story to him.  For instance, he found some sort of crank handle and swore it was part of a harpoon.  How could we tell him it wasn't !  (they made swords to play with from old fence and grasses)

My sweet daughter has a bleeding heart for all the broken shells.  Ever since she was a toddler, her beach pile contained all the broken ones.  I think she is sad no one loves them and so she takes them home with her.  

(art on the beach with her broken shells- it spells "sea")

My eldest, he looks for fossils, sea glass and stones.  He is constant competition with me for the most or best sea glass!!!!
  

(he got the "find of the day" award for this old bottle neck)

(this beach was pure beachcombing joy and we found lots of amazing treasures here)
Below is just some of the loot we scored from the beach at the other end of the island- Barnagat Light-  this weekend.

(horse jaw?)

As we all walked the beach, shrieking for joy at the odd things we found, I looked around, and thought- man these guys are my heart, and this place holds it.  

:sigh: ok, enough sappy stuff (they grow so fast, I am really feeling it these days).  All this beach combing, and visiting the sea glass festival got me to thinking about sea glass again.  So, I want to share with you a short wire wrapping tutorial on sea glass.  I have seen A LOT of them out there, and so many have you wrap it real fancy or pretty, but if you pull on it, your sea glass will fall right out.  And take it from a fellow beachcomber, losing a dear found treasure is NOT what you want.
_______________________________________________

Here is how I wrap.  Each piece is totally different, so, it will vary, but the concept is the same for all of them.

1.  I used 18g copper wire for this.  I like to use the thickest gauge I can manage without blocking out the sea glass.  18g is definitely my go to size.  I also chose a square piece of sea glass, because for me, they were the most challenging.  Since you have to capture each side so it can't move, it is a bit harder then with triangular pieces, with have points you can wrap the wire around to hold it tight.

2.  I always start with the bail, and there is  GOOD reason for that.  Make a wire wrapped loop and close it 

3.  Hold the bail where it will go, and bring the long wire down the center of the back

4.  Bring the wire back up the center to the bail, and wrap it tightly around once.  Make sure the wire is tight to the glass the entire time. 

5.  Now you need to capture the sides so the glass can't fall out.  First I go around a corner and then halfway down, pull the wire to the back of the sea glass.  Then holding it tight, I wrap it up and around the bail again.  Wrapping the wire around the bail each time secures that it can't move or shift, and you won't be able to pull it apart when you are done. 

6.  Now come from the back again, to the other side, so down to the bottom and then back up the back side, and wrap around the bail again.  If your wire feels tight, and the sea glass can't be moved within your cage, you are done.

7. Wrap around the bail again and tuck your end in.  File any sharp edges of the wire if needed.  this shows the back side 

8.  This shows the front

Here are some other samples of my wire wrapped sea glass.  You can see how each one is going to be very unique.

If you really want to have some fun, you can drill the sea glass and then use wire to attach them (as seen below)

I have a free sea glass drilling tutorial here

along with a video.  I will be adding some sea glass kits (drill bits and genuine sea glass pieces) to the shop next week if anyone is interested, check back then (here).

I leave you with one of my newest pieces, inspired by our trips this weekend with a piece of wrapped sea glass, an ammonite, fossil bones and other goodies!  It will be at the Crafts in the Meadow with me, for sale this weekend.

Have fun with your beach finds!  I know I do!!!!

Setting up Shop at Handmade at Amazon?

by Sherri Stokey

If you sell handmade products online, chances are you've heard of the new Handmade at Amazon soon to be launched by the folks at Amazon to offer handcrafted products to their millions of customers worldwide.  As we speak, an untold number of artisans have already been invited to set up shop and yes, folks, yours truly is one of them.  I’m not sure entirely sure why I’m putting myself through this, but it does seem like an exciting opportunity to get in on the ground floor.  I manage to muddle through with my Etsy shop and my blog and a little social media.  How hard can this be?  Right?

Well, let me tell you… I don’t want to scare anyone off by any means, but this has not been easy for me.  I haven’t felt this inadequate for a long time - and that’s saying something because I often feel inadequate.  I couldn’t even find my way back to my shop again after closing my browser.  My only consolation at this point comes from knowing there are many other people experiencing the same thing.  Hint #1, if you’re trying to find your shop (the way it looks to buyers), try Amazon.com/handmade/yourshopname (Hint #2: you’ll want to substitute your own shop name there where it says yourshopname).  If you’re looking for the Seller Central dashboard part, after you log in, go to Your Account and on the right hand side there’s a spot for “Your Other Accounts” where Your Seller Account is one of the options.  I felt about ten times better just being able to navigate to my shop (stop laughing).

Once you locate your shop, you need to set up your Artisan Profile.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Not so fast there, Skippy.  For the store “cover image” they suggest that you use a photo of your work space.  That’s all fine and dandy if you have a photogenic studio space.  If your “work space” consists of a couch and end table and your “studio space” is the furnace closet (are you laughing at me again?), it’s not so glamorous.  I ended up cobbling together some photos into a collage banner (Picmonkey or CollageItare good for this) which will just have to suffice.  It's a pretty big space to fill, so keep in mind if you use a photo of yourself, your nostrils might look huge (speaking from experience here).  Bonus, though, you can link up to five of the products in your store to your banner.  If something in your banner, I mean “cover image”, catches someone’s eye, they can click it to be taken directly to that product to purchase.  Points to Amazon for that one.   No time to rest, though, because they allow another three photos in this section and according to all the Smart People, you need to put something in there.  I’m putting that one on the back burner for now because the Little Dog won’t hold still for a portrait and she's the only other thing I can think of to photograph at the moment.

 After all that (and a glass of wine or two, because let’s face it, this is work), there’s still the bio writing to be done.  You know the “why everyone should want to buy from me” space?  Amazon calls it “How are your products made?” but I’m sure they want more than “I tied string into knots” in there.  There are other boxes to be worded up, too, like “Inspiration” and “About You”.  I’m a grandmother from the middle of nowhere Nebraska.  The “about me” section is going to be about as dull as… well, you get my point.  Words, people.  You’re going to need to spend some quality time with your thesaurus or get someone to write it for you.  I glossed over mine and stuck something in there just to get past this step.  I’ll go back later and refine it (famous last words).  Oh, did I mention?  When you make changes to your profile, it takes 15 minutes to show up.  Or more.  Like up to 2-3 hours more.  If you’re a fusser like me and make a hundred little changes, you have to wait quite a while in between to see how the changes will actually look to customers (which gives you time for more wine). 

If you’re still awake/alert/sober and haven’t reached information overload or achieved a total frustration meltdown, you’re now to the part where you can actually list an item to sell.  Yay!!  OMG, hold on… they want your product photos to be on a neutral background without props and without watermarks or logos or whatnot.  WHAT!?  Who DOES that?  Actually, for Etsy selling, we should have been doing this all along.  In my defense, I tried that years ago and my photos were crummy.  So then I staged them a little bit and added a backdrop and “the hand” and hit my stride for a little while.  Not that my photos were spectacular, mind you, but they were apparently good enough for enterprising folks to nab them and pretty soon I started seeing my pictures plastered all over foreign web sites (pictures of jewelry, people – get your minds out of the gutter).  After that I started putting my shop name on all my photos.  Turns out Etsy doesn’t recommend that.  In fact, they say “watermarks make photos unsuitable for features within Etsy marketing materials and offsite advertising programs like Google Product Listing Ads”.  

Most of my photos just had to be retaken.  Above is an example of before (with a prop and watermark) and after.  I tried getting the background and/or props and/or watermark out of the photos, but that required even more work doing the editing than retaking the photos.  I have to say, the only thing I like better than learning a new system and writing about myself is editing photos (can you sense the sarcasm there?).  I think this is about the time that I started whimpering.

I’ll just skip the part for now about photography tips, because despite a lot of trial and error, I still don’t know what I’m doing.  I did just discover Fotofuze (hello Beautiful, where have you been all my life?) which will help you clean up your Etsy photos pretty painlessly if you have a fairly neutral background to begin with.  I will also admit the nice white background and lack of props has given my shop a whole new, fresh feel.  The photos below are an example of what the Fotofuze tool can do in just a few seconds.  The facelift was probably long overdue.

Is anyone still with me?  Kudos to you for sticking with me this long!  You realize, don’t you, that we haven’t listed a single item yet!  Not one.  *sigh*  Let me fast forward a little bit for you – listing requires about 3-4 different tabs, with numerous fields for entry, most of which don’t apply to everyone (read: me.  Because I only care about the ones that apply to me).  I have to scroll through a whole bunch of stone size, treatment, pearl color, etc. and try to make sure I don’t miss the two or three fields in the midst of all that that actually do apply to my stuff like color and size.   According to the Smart People, you really need to fill in as many of these fields as you can if they apply.  Those are the fields people can use to narrow down their product searches and if you leave it blank, you might miss out.

The titles require a totally different mindset than Etsy titles, too.  I just started putting a whole bunch of relevant terms in my product titles over there and now we're going back to square one.  Search terms are totally different and instead of using short phrases like on Etsy, you don’t need to repeat words.  So on Etsy I might enter “macramé bracelet” and  “macramé jewelry” but for Amazon I just need macramé, bracelet and jewelry.  (Without commas, by the way.)   So, all new keywords and no pressure, folks.  Only mostof the time will Amazon users perform a search before purchasing.  

I’m not giving up yet, though.  I am bound and determined that Amazon customers are going to see my micro macramé jewelry and be wowed by it.  If it kills me.

If you’re going to jump in with me, here’s the short list of advice I can offer (and keep in mind I am not an expert in any way, shape or form):

1. Find your shop (see Hint #1 above) and bookmark it and your Seller Central page.
2. Put some thought into your cover photo and artist info.  Get a friend to help you if you aren’t good at talking (or writing) about yourself. 
3. Find a support group.  Join a group on Facebook or bring up the conversation in a group to which you already belong.  You’ll feel better just knowing you’re not alone in your frustration and you might just find someone who can offer assistance or critiques.
4. Work on your photos.  I know this has been said over and over and is true no matter what online venue you’re using, but it couldn’t be truer.  When your customers don’t have the luxury of picking up your piece to look at it, you need to have really good pictures of all different angles.  Give them a way to visualize the size (note:  props are allowed in alternate item photos, just not the primary photo).  Be sure your colors are good.
5. There is no “copy” function for listing yet.  Using your browser’s “back” button will save a few of the things for you, but none of the ones I wanted it to save (just my experience).  My solution was to start a word document with some of the things I used over and over so I could copy and paste. 

That’s about all I can offer you at this point.  I will be doing more research on keywords/search terms and I’ll be sure to share that with you when (if) I figure something out.  If you need me before then, you can probably find me hunched over my keyboard  trying to list as many products as I can before Handmade at Amazon launches - if any of you have any hints and tips for this process, we would love to hear them!

Polymer clay: Endless Possibilites

by Staci Louise Smith

I never intended to become a polymer clay artist.  I made jewelry.  I made jewelry with PMC, sea glass, gemstones and wire.  When I started to make beads, it was for fun, to allow myself some play.  PMC got really expensive and the polymer allowed me to scuplt without breaking the bank.

I never knew I'd fall so in love with it.  I myself, was a bit of a bead snob, and never bought polymer beads to use in my "fancy" designs.  Most of what I knew was caning, and that was far to bright for my work (gorgeous, but bright)....and......the snob in me saw it as plastic.

Then I got paired with Lynda Mosely of Diva Designs for The Bead Soup Blog party.  She sent me some of her faux turquoise beads, a fabulous transfer and lots of other beads to play with.  I was in awe that it was polymer.  It was such an eye opening moment for me.  You could make polymer look like things, well, other then polymer!  

I mean, look at her work

You can find her on facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/Diva-Designs-Inc-440052939372905/timeline/

and on etsy here (where she sells tutorials as well!!!)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/divadesignsinc

That is all I needed, and I was off and running.  I chose to paint on polymer, because I grew up in a home with a mom who painted.  I learned faux finishes and how to use painting mediums on just about anything.

At first I just loved being able to get out my paints again and play.

Here are some of my earlier beads, just loving being able to play with color and paint.

Over time though, I began to love the sculpting of the clay too.  These are my new favorites to make because I really get to play with form.

And as time goes on, I fall more and more in love with this medium.  There is always something new to learn.

I mean always.

You can find new techniques daily, or, at least, new ways to use old techniques.  

I love blogs like Polymer Clay Daily, which features inspiration and new artists each day!  

Or the Polymer Arts Blog, which focus's more on a technique or design element and showcases it for a month or so through the works of different artists.

And then there is my favorite place to go for WOW moments and information, and that is Ginger Allman of the Blue Bottle Tree's facebook page.  Her blog is packed with information for beginners and experts alike, as she investigates tools, dispels myths, and continually gives the polymer community a plethora of useful information.  

On facebook, she likes to showcase artists as well as post things to inspire us to go further.

This is the post that inspired MY post today.  I mean, just when you though you have seen it all.  She showcased this pendant and asked us to try to figure out how it was made.

artist: Ayyrin

http://polymerclayfimo.livejournal.com/5210791.html

Ginger hinted that it involved pastels and stretching of the clay.  

We were all stumped.  

Well, here is the tutorial.

Its not in English, but you can follow the pictures.  

Watch and be amazed.

http://ayyrin.livejournal.com/8166.html

It really had me shaking my head, but in a good way.  There is so much you can do with this medium.  So many finishes, so many ways to manipulate it......the possibilities are endless.

If you are looking to try out polymer clay, I encourage you to really investigate The Blue Bottle Tree's blog and do research.  There is a lot to learn.  But once you have conditioning and curing down (and trust me, these can take time to get right for a strong solid piece) then you are ready to have fun.

Ginger also has lots of tutorials you can purchase on her website.

I have a tutorial on my painting technique that involves the crackle finish available on my website (just the painting technique, no polymer forming in it)

http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/product/painting-polymer-crackle-technique-tutorial

I also have an online class you can take through Craftcast to learn to make these from start to finish: forming, curing, painting, and making the necklace as well.  

You can find that here

https://www.craftcast.com/recordings/painted-polymer-fossil-talisman-staci-l-smith

So how about you?  What have you seen that has blown your mind?  or opened a new door in your medium?  Have you had those moments that have changed your entire artistic course?

Redneck Air Conditioner for Craft Fairs and Festivals

Carol Dekle-Foss

Hello everyone! For my very first post back in June of 2014 I promised I would share our crazy but fabulous handmade air conditioner, and here it is! I had scoured the internet looking for ways to keep cool during craft fairs and ran into the idea of making your own air conditioner. 

 My husband and I built it together using these genius instructions. There are TONS of tutorials out there on how to make them, but this guy beats them all with a built-in radiator!

Craft fairs and festivals can be challenging because you never know what the weather will bring. Torrential downpours, gusty winds, snowstorms, and even hot weather will clear out even the best of events. We try to combat the weather by using propane heaters for the cold and this air conditioner for the heat. It gets the customers attention and is a nice ice breaker. Also, it makes our tent cooler, so customers want to stay and shop longer! It also keeps my husband and I from passing out of heat stroke.

We just plug in the bilge pump and fan, add tons of ice and it lasts for a good couple of hours. Down the road we plan on investing in a heavy duty battery so we will be able to run all our gadgets and doohickeys without having to buy electricity.

So there you have it, our redneck air conditioner. I love it! So how do you combat the elements during outdoor craft fairs and festivals? I would love to hear your ideas!

Why DO We Sell Our Art?

by Sherri Stokey

"Why is selling your finished product important?"  This question was tossed my way recently by a student working on an economics project and it stumped me for a bit.  Why do I feel the need to sell my handmade pieces?  Why do any of us want to sell our art?  I think I speak for the majority of jewelry and jewelry component makers when I say it isn't for the money.  The reality for most of us is that a full-time minimum wage job would likely be more profitable.  What, then, could persuade us to put the results of our blood, sweat and tears out there for the world to judge (and hopefully buy)?

There are things which obviously contribute to the decision to sell.  I really love macrame and I practice my craft almost every day.  It's how I relax and I thoroughly enjoy experimenting with color and texture and pattern.  I'm curious and one thing leads to another.  Before I know it, I have three or four new pieces in the space of a week.  Even culling out the ones I deem unworthy of sale, I am still left with a steadily building inventory of micro macrame jewelry pieces - more than I can possibly wear.  Selling some pieces not only frees up space, but the resulting income allows me to purchase more beads and more colors of cord and do more experimenting.  That's a definite win-win for someone like me who wants to have all the beads and all the cord!

Practicality aside, further soul-searching revealed something that surprised me.  My answer to the student was "It gives me a feeling of "success" to think someone else thought enough of my work to purchase it."  If you take that a bit further, my reason for selling actually boils down to fulfilling an emotional need for approval.  Go figure!  

I pride myself on not caring what people think of every little thing I do or say or how I look.  It's taken me years to get to the point in my life where I can say that with some degree of honesty.  I won't claim to be 100% there, but I'm certainly closer to it than I was when I was younger.  The trite saying "with age comes wisdom" isn't far off the mark.  Maybe it's just a matter of having seen more and having been through more that lets you start to prioritize better and figure out what really matters in the overall scheme of things.

Why, then, this need for validation when it comes to my art?  Why is there such an emotional connection to selling my "finished product"?  I did a little research and I found this: on a deep emotional level, feeling approval makes us feel more secure with who we are.  Hmm.  This is starting to make some sense to me.  I have a real problem with confidence.  I don't call what I do "art" (unless I go back and correct it for the purposes of this article) and I don't think of myself as an "artist".  I can apply those labels to others, but not myself.  But I can recognize the beauty of the pieces I make and take credit for the creation. So while I admit that for now I am still seeking validation, I will continue to work toward my goal of feeling good about who I am apart from my craft. And when I do reach that point, I will continue to sell just to share my joy with the world!

What about  you?  Care to share why you decided to sell (or not to sell) your art?

The In Between

by Staci L. Smith

Well, I really really really wanted to have some sort of "how to" post for you today.  But it did not happen.  We were away for the holiday weekend for one last holiday hoorah- beach time with family and friends.

I will tell you this though, the weekend was beautiful, and we took some of Marsha Neal's kits (and some of her loose silks and disc beads so we could make even more) to the shore.  

find them here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/234097073/beaded-silk-wrap-bracelet-kit-for-five?ref=shop_home_feat_4

My daughter is 11 and my friends daughter is a year older then her.  I thought they might enjoy making them in their down time.

Not only did they have a great time making them (I ordered another kit- yep- they had that much fun) but my friends daughter decided they can also be worn in her hair, as a removable hair wrap using a bobby pin through the loop hole.  How cute is that?  

So very creative of her!

Not to mention, while we were in Ocean City NJ we had to hit the Potomac Bead Company- and of course we all shopped there too!  
Fun times!!!


So that is where I am right now, in between.  I have a ton of things coming up though, so I will have much more to write about in the near future!!!!  I am making polymer this week and jotting notes for possible videos and classes.  
Then I need to make a bunch (ton, massive amounts) of jewelry for my upcoming fall shows.

The list is longer then that, but that is all I can mentally prepare for at this time !!  LOL!

I hope you had a nice holiday weekend to end the summer and I cannot wait for all the fall colors, cooler weather and great new fall bead designs to start showing up.

 Like Marsha's cool little pumpkins

https://www.etsy.com/listing/208018383/miniature-ceramic-pumpkin-handmade-fall?ref=shop_home_feat_3

Micro Macrame Successes

by Sherri Stokey

Susan hadn't ever tried micro macrame before, but she tried the KnotAlong tutorial I shared in this post a couple weeks ago and shared her piece with us.  Didn't she do a great job on her first try?  

Donna's done quite a lot of micro macrame, so she decided to add a little twist on her pendant by using multiple colors:

This one was from Hilary:

And Susan:

I learned a couple of things from the feedback and comments of folks who participated, too.  Valerie shared how she dips her cords in Fray Check - did you know you could pop the top out and then you have the whole bottle opening to dip in?  Who knew!!   I can't believe I've been fighting that all these years and it's as simple as popping that piece out when you want.  It goes right back in, too, so it's back to the little applicator tip for use in coating knots when ending projects.  Thanks for sharing, Valerie!!

Georgette also shared that Super New Glue will darken at least some cords.  I've used the hypo cement for years and haven't had that issue, so I think I'll continue recommending it.  Aren't Georgette's colors gorgeous?

Many thanks to those of you who took time to share your successes with the rest of us.  If you haven't tried micro macrame knotting yet, I'm here to tell you that you can do it and the KnotAlong video will show you how, step by step.

If you did try it and you're ready for more projects, I have tutorials in my Etsy shop and a special coupon code just for you.  Use code "TENOFF" to save 10% in my shop.  The code is good on finished jewelry pieces and kits as well as the tutorials and is valid through 9/8/15.  Have fun!!