Links Ahoy Matey!

I had a fun time dressing up as a pirate for the day at Rust Belt Market yesterday!  I thought a pirate would suit the theme of the huge tentacle monster looming above my booth, so I borrowed most of the outfit from Alex's ample costume closet.

I have sold quite a few of these skull pendants this season, which people seemed to like to make into Story Necklaces like the Skully Story Necklace below, which I listed in my Etsy Galleria.

That's the news from my studio this weekend... check out what some of my beady friends are doing:

A Bead A Day
Are you sharing your talents with others? Lisa shares her recent experience teaching a group of friends a simple, but rewarding project.   About.com Jewelry Making
Break into glass jewelry making with these tutorials and techniques.   Art Bead Scene
Heather helps us look ahead to the holiday season with some great inspiration for seasonal jewelry   Beading Arts
Polymer clay + greeting cards = a fun mixed media necklace!   Beads & Books
How long does it really take you to make a piece of jewelry? Michelle shares the long process behind a simple pair of earrings.   Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a cute fabric brooch idea for Halloween.   Cindy Gimbrone Beads
This week's Tuesday Tangle features handmade earrings of metal clay and wire.   Resin Crafts!
This week we have a nice series showing you how to use an ice tray to make fun skull and bone cast pieces.   Snap out of it,Jean! There's beading to be done!
Wonderful, really exciting giveaway from Beaducation! Read all about it and sign up on Jean's blog!


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Kitty Thoughts

 Wow, I have been pretty pathetic with the blogging lately.  I have had a lot going on, a roller coaster of happy and sad things in my personal life, nothing that I feel like sharing publicly.  I am muddling along with work, getting stuff done, but not feeling the push to talk about business stuff much, which actually sort of effects my sales. So I am going to work on making more of an effort, even if it is just posting a new picture and a few thoughts every day.

Today I will share that I have added the Kitty Pendant design to my website.  It has done so well on Etsy and at shows, I am giving it a permanent home at Earthenwood.  I have several more of the new designs that I am adding to the site, a little at a time.

I also recently made a new Double Kitty pendant design, which I am testing now.  I have a few to list on Etsy today.

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Studio Tour Sunday

 Yeah, I haven't blogged all week.  And the Etsy Boot Camp challenge this week is to catch up, which I badly need to do, so that gave me a reprieve from that post too.  I have been spending most of my time caring for my sick doggie and just getting my work done.  I don't have a whole lot to say these days, as I haven't had a lot of energy to post many new things.  I did manage to list a few more Wholesale Bundles, like this Spookyhead collection.  It's not been all blah though, I have had a lot of joy and happiness in the last week... I am just not feeling like sharing much.


But these people have a lot of stuff to say!  Check out the weekly round up of my beady friends' blogs:

A Bead A Day
Need to stop buying and start making? Lisa is having the same problem, BUT check out these sparkly connectors she found.

About.com Jewelry Making
You will fall in love with this new necklace tutorial, or at the very least follow your heart.  

Art Bead Scene
Jennifer shares a free tutorial on making adorable bead zipper pulls, perfect to spruce up a fall jacket! 

Beading Arts
Cyndi explains how to turn a cabochon into a simple bead embroidered pendant!  

Beads & Books
See the fun earrings Michelle made with sari ribbon and get inspired to work with this popular material. 

Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Cindy's back from her class with Hadar Jacobson. Take a look at the mokume gane pieces she made from metal clay.  

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shows off her holiday packaging and questions photography in another Etsy Boot Camp post 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews the beautiful new book by Heather Powers, Jewelry Designs from Nature  

The Bead Dreamer
Charlene reviews the book Color, Texture and Casting for Jewelers


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Haunted Houses and Tentacle Monsters

I am loving Halloween time this year!  I have a bunch of spooky themed work out, both in my Etsy shops (like this Haunted House wholesale bundle from my Etsy Wholesale site) and in my Rust Belt booth.  Decorating my booth is serious business this year, as we recycled my buddy Scott's Tentacle Monster costume to use as decoration:

It looks so great looming over my booth!  I am thinking I will dress up as a pirate for Halloween weekend at the market when the kids come for trick or treating.  Seems a suitable pair for such a sea monster!

That's the news from my studio, check out some of the things going on in some of my beady friends' studios:

About.com Jewelry Making
October's jewelry designer interview includes some interesting ideas from Lorelei Eurto. 

Art Bead Scene
Heather shares a free project that tells a little story of her recent move back to Michigan 

Beading Arts
A bit of silver leaf, a bit of acrylic paint, and some polymer clay...beautiful results! 

Carmi's Art/Life World
A little Apoxie Clay goes a long way when you have time to play in the studio. 

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shares another week of Etsy Boot Camp goals 

Resin Crafts!
This week Carmi demos several layers of resin in a small tin. 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reminisces about the lovely book which she and Melanie of Earthenwood were in. She used Melanie's knockout components and they look just as fab today as they did then!  

The Bead Dreamer
Charlene shares how life seems to be crowding out jewelry making! Sometimes that's just how it is... 



Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Etsy Boot Camp Week 3

 Ok, I haven't really spent much time on this week's tasks, which are mostly about photography.  Cleaning up after a two show weekend and taking care of a sick dog has left me no time or energy this week.  I will keep this short, but here are a few things I tried.  Above, a wider product shot of one of my necklaces.  I struggled to get this and I am not happy with it.  The necklace display is not very attractive and I don't think it really accents the jewelry.  I think I need a little bust form.  So back to the drawing board, there.

 I need more space in my photo area to take these types of shots.  I was fighting with my tripod and camera and was generally unhappy with this process.  I think my photos are ok for now, so I am not going to sweat it much and put it on a long term list.

I did get this picture of my packaging, so we will call that a success.  I took some more pictures of jewelry and edited them and will find some time to list them soon.  Not much progress for this week, but that's ok, I knew it would be tough after the show.  See you next week with hopefully more progress!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Little Time and Lotsa Links

  With my regular weekend set-up at the Rust Belt and a second show this weekend (the Bead Bonanza) I have very little time for anything!  But I will make time to share a new jewelry listing, this Time Clock necklace that I put in my Etsy Galleria.  And I will give ya this week's beady Studio Sunday links.  Have a great weekend, everyone! A Bead A Day
Day of the dead celebratory beads! Do you find these cute scary, scary cute or just plain cute?    Art Bead Scene
Erin at Art Bead Scene has compiled a gorgeous set of woodland themed Etsy treasuries to celebrate this month's art challenge   Beading Arts
Cyndi really enjoyed making her challenge piece for Michelle Mach's "Very Vintage Challenge"!   Beads & Books
Come see 30+ amazing fall-inspired designs made with the same kit materials!    Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Running a small business can sometimes be about the smallest words.    Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie offers a new bunny pendant for sale with proceeds going to help Nancy Schindler from Round Rabit, who lost her studio in a flood in September   Resin Crafts!
Carmi creates miniature water pitchers with new molds!   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean makes some adorable pendant and earring sets with the help of her friend Rose and help from Artbeads.com as well!   The Bead Dreamer
Want to make seed bead jewelry but don't know where to start. Charlene reviews a book on bead embroidery that may help. Easy to learn techniques, minimal tools, fabulous results.


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Etsy Boot Camp Week 2

Ok, another week of Etsy Boot Camp has passed and I wanted to check in to the blog, since I am using it as a virtual Boot Camp Buddy.  To be honest, I have had a very busy week, so I only poked around briefly at the to-do lists.  But I did look and have been thinking about some of the things and how they apply to me. The main article I read, Stocking up for the Holidays was informative, but I had a hard time applying it to me in some ways.  It was about trends and products that will be big sellers this season, and I am not looking to develop new products at this point.  I am trying to get my existing product line in my shop and am working on doing that and marketing it.  Although I am planning some new ornaments and the article did give me the idea for some DIY kits, which would be good both at Rust Belt and on Etsy.  The article did make me think about my gift packaging, which is something I recently developed for Rust Belt (see the picture above).  I think I will take a better picture of an individual box and keep some supplies for my shipping area, and offer it as an add-on for holiday sales.  I am thinking of also offering a Priority Mail add-on as well, for rushed shoppers.   Another useful idea from the article is the use of personalization.  Now, part of what gets me into trouble sometimes is offering too many options, so I am going to be careful with this one.  But I do think a necklace made with my QWERTY charms, available in any initial, would be fun and easy for me to do.  Some other things that this week's articles and post made me think about are:  -getting matching sets into the shop (earring, necklace, bracelet)-getting earrings and bracelets in the shop, period.  I seem to be focused on necklaces at the moment-working on a variety of price points, particularly the higher end ones, as I have the under $50 covered-working on guy and kid friendly jewelry-marketing better towards gifts for particular types of people (readers, beaders, writers, bikers, etc) 

The last item of note for me this week in the Boot Camp emails is the Etsy search ads.  I don't know how I feel about this.  I have felt for quite some time now that Etsy will only work well for me if I do my own external marketing and bring my own people to my shop there.  I am sure there are quite a few people who find me through Etsy, but I am really not sure how many, and I haven't really paid much attention for figuring out more.  But I guess there are some big changes and new ways to check stats, so I will be taking a look at those.  I don't like the idea of spending any more money there to promote within, but I am going to give the search ads a try for a few weeks.   

That's my Boot Camp Update!  Now that my big wholesale order is out and in a few days, my bead show is over, I hope to really focus on getting more work in the Etsy Galleria and getting into gear for the holidays!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Spooky Roots

I wanted to share the finished pieces from Sunday's post.  The crackling crawly glaze turned out great!  I love ow ancient and muddy these look, like they were excavated from some burial site.  Or they dug themselves out of my back yard!  Maybe these root guys are what have been menacing my plumbing lately!  The plumber told me I have a lot of roots down there.  I have been obsessed with the idea of my house being possessed lately. I don't know if I really believe in all of that stuff, but it somehow entertains me as I struggle with all the home repairs. This house must be possessed by demons with all the tormenting it does to me! I tend to think these dark thoughts in October... I just love the Halloween season!
These pieces can be found along with other seasonal goodies in my Spooky Things section of my Etsy shop!

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Studio Tour Sunday

  This week has been spent getting over a cold and working on some beads for a big Halloween order.  It ships out tomorrow so I have been rushing to make my deadline.  Hopefully I will have a few extra for my bead show, the Bead Bonanza, next Sunday.  I love October!
Here are this week's Studio Tour Links: A Bead A Day
Lisa's got a quick tip for bead lovers! If a fabulous wholesale bead show comes to your city, don't miss it!    About.com Jewelry Making
My, oh my, what is your favorite type of mother-of-pearl, natural, colored, bleached, all of the above?   Art Bead Scene
We are all ready for Fall at Art Bead Scene! Check out the bounty of Autumn beady goodies we found from art bead makers on Etsy.   Beading Arts
Cyndi has a really fun giveaway book with great projects for fall weekends!   Cindy Gimbrone Beads
Cindy shares what she made with Cat's lovely etched copper heart.   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie starts Etsy Holiday Boot Camp with some goals and promises   Resin Crafts!
Carmi has a blog post featuring a resin disaster.   Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean goes back through the mists of time and fondly recalls a favorite bracelet she made using components from two favorite websites!    The Bead Dreamer
Handcrafted jewelry and autumn looks for 2011 are just perfect together. Charlene shows how.


Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.

Rabbits in the Round Necklace Kit

 I designed a necklace using my new Rabbits in the Round pendant and link set!  I wanted something simple and easy to make, because for one thing... I haven't been in my beading studio for months and it is a scary mess, so I was limited to what I could find.  And secondly, because I wanted to make this as a quick kit.  I have listed the kits in my Etsy shop, but take notice: the kit is just for the metal parts and findings.  To get the complete package, you have to order the pendant and link set too.  I wanted to encourage more sales of the pendant sets, to raise more money for Nancy Schindler, which is the whole inspiration behind this design!

Here are a few details of the necklace:

Melanie is an artist, blogger, writer, and ceramic beadmaker at Earthenwood Studio. Her beads and components can be found at her Etsy shop and her jewelry can be found in her Etsy Galleria. To comment on this post, visit the original post at the Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Blog.