2011 Trends

How much easier life would be without constantly changing trends! But how boring, too!

About this time every year I begin to stress ...just a little... about keeping up with trends. As a jewelry designer, I realize it's important to keep up, but sometimes I just want to close my eyes and let the trends drift right on by.

So I am incredibly grateful for people who do the trend searching for me! I came across this article that summarizes the upcoming trends. I actually breathed a sigh of relief... (which was rudely interrupted by the realization that I have a LOT of adjusting to do in my designs!)

I hated Geometry in school, but I'm liking the new fashion trend!

If you are an artisan of just about anything, this article will help you come up with creations that people will be looking for this Christmas season and throughout next year!

"2011 Trends for Holiday Sales Success"

If you come across any articles that would be helpful or have your own fashion trend tips, please share!

Wire Sale at my Fave Wire Website!

If you're into the jewelry-making side of things, specifically wire jewelry, don't miss out on this great sale! It's ONE DAY ONLY! I just ordered :)

Go to Wire-Sculpture.com and check out their "Daily Deals." Today they have serious deals on some short lengths of sterling and gold-filled wire. Then Sign up for their daily deals email so you don't miss out on other great deals!

My Recent Craft Show Experience

This past Sunday I took part in a craft show at our local mall. It was my second craft show and my second not-so-great experience. It was a long day of very few sales. Jewelry is a tough market to be in!

But it was another learning opportunity. One thing I learned is that I need a LOT more pieces to draw more attention. This was a last minute show so I didn't have as many pieces as I would have liked, but I realized I needed even more than I would have thought!

I've read articles about how to get the most out of craft shows. I followed all the rules I could remember -

• I attempted eye contact with and a smile to every person that walked by my table.
• I left the books and whatnot to entertain myself at home. I was completely available at all times.
• My jewelry set up was unique and organized.
• I greeted everyone that came to my table and attempted conversation.

At one point I had to feed my baby boy, so the husband took over for a bit. He's much better at the sales part of things. He added to my list -

• Hand out a business card to every person that stops even for a second.
• Tell everyone that I also sell online and have a website.
• Find a way to compliment a potential customer (From a distance I noticed a girl blush and twirl her hair after Derek told her dangly earrings go great with long curly hair).

All of these are excellent tips, and I will continue to implement them if I ever attempt a regular craft show again. One more thing I'd like to add when I'm more prepared is have jewelry projects to work on. I think people are drawn to watching people craft their crafts! I know I am. It's different than just sitting there with a book or on your phone.

But I kept wondering as I sat there watching person after person walk by my table... are some people more drawn to a table when the crafter is not paying attention to them? I thought about this because I tend to rather approach a table and browse the merchandise without feeling the pressure of purchasing something from the vendor. I made sure not to put on any pressure, but could simply chatting with them make them feel like they have to purchase something? Could that be why some people smiled back at me and picked up their pace?

Have you ever been to a craft show? What draws you to a table? What is most likely to cause you to pass on by? Don't be shy! Help me out here!

The prize jewelry!

 Here are the pics I snapped before sending the prize winners their jewelry. I'm very happy with the way they turned out. I hope these lovely ladies love their much deserved jewelry!

2nd Prizes (there was a tie!)

1st prize!

Last Minute Craft Show!

This Sunday (October 17th), I'll be at the Concord Mall in Elkhart as a part of an Arts and Craft show!

Please come show me and the other local artisans some support!

See you, Sunday!!

Bead Shopping!

I love bead shopping. I love bead sales. And just the other day I discovered that I LOVE Joann Fabrics.

My 2-year-old daughter loves bead shopping, too. But that's for a whole 'nother post.

For now I just wanted to give you a glimpse of the beads I got for the recent Facebook contest winners. I have their pieces done but I want them to be surprised when they open their packages, so I'll post final pics after they've seen their prizes!

All 3 picked black among other colors. Hmm... maybe I should spend more time with black. What do you think?

Simple Dangles Tutorial

My first tutorial! Brace yourselves.

We'll be making these:

You'll need the basic 3 and these materials:

2 ear wires

2 headpins

2 brown pearl beads

2 green disc beads

Take 1 headpin and slip on the green disc followed by the brown pearl:

Take your chain nose pliers and clench the headpin just above the brown bead with the tip of your pliers:

Bend the wire down to a 90 degree angle with your free hand:

Put your chain nose pliers down. It's your round nose pliers' turn.

Grasp the wire with your round nose pliers just beyond the bend. Roll the wire in the opposite direction:

Continue to grasp the wire with the round nose pliers. Using your free hand, wrap the wire around the pliers to make a complete circle, keeping the wire snug against the pliers:

Reposition your pliers to grasp the loop you just made. Using either your hand or - I recommend - your chain nose pliers, wrap the wire around the stem...

...until the wire is snug with the brown pearl (about 3 times around). This wire certainly loves to snuggle.

Use your wire cutters (or flush cutters) to trim the wire:

Note: the flat side of the cutters are what make the flush cut, so make sure you're using the flat side closest to the earring.

You have your dangle!

Now to make it useful. Grab an ear wire and use your chain nose pliers to open the loop:

 Open it to the side. This will keep the loop in tact:

Slide your dangle in and close the loop just the way you opened it:

(I'd show you a two-handed shot, but do you know how hard it is to get my husband to pick up his socks?? After asking him to help take pics twice, I decided it was a losing battle. Sorry!)

Your completed dangle earring!

Generally people wear a pair of earrings. I am aware of this. Simply scroll up and repeat!

Thank you so much for joining me for my first tutorial! Now you know how to make a simple pair of earrings. If you have any questions, please ask! And if you just want to buy these earrings, that's also an option. Again, just ask!

Happy creating!

Linking to this party.

Tools?!?

When I think jewelry, I think delicate, pretty, elegant... girly.

When I think tools, well, I don't think any of those things. I think something more like, "Don't know much about them, don't care either."

So when I started researching how to make jewelry, the sight of tools scared me. And there were so many! As I said in the previous post, my sisters got me a starter kit, and I've found since then that the 3 mini tools they got me were perfect to get me started on beaded jewelry.

1. Wire cutters
2. Round nose pliers
3. Chain nose pliers

But here are my recommendations...
- Use wire cutters from your husband's tool box. These little wire cutters were basically useless after just a couple snips.
- Only purchase a cheap starter kit like this if you just want to make a pair of earrings every once in awhile or you want to try out this jewelry making thing before committing to more expensive tools.

Here are my upgraded tools. LOVE them.

Chain nose pliers

Round nose pliers

Wire cutters

I also love these flush cutters...

They make nice, clean cuts. Definitely worth the investment but not completely necessary for simple beaded jewelry.

These are the basic 3 tools for making beaded jewelry. We'll use all of them for my first tutorial.

I'm currently venturing into wire jewelry which brings in countless more tools. Maybe some day I'll have it figured out... maybe. Until then, we'll keep playing with beaded jewelry!

Hope this is helpful! You'll find my upgraded tools at my fave wire site: Wire-Sculpture.com (except the wire cutters that I think my husband bought at Walmart or some place cheap). The starter kit you can easily find at any craft store.


Linking to this party -

History in the making

I'm not one of those types that was drawing jewelry designs at 5 years old, or always had just the right necklace for every single outfit, or went to any kind of art school. I've always liked wearing jewelry (especially earrings), but I usually had my small handful of favorite pieces that I wore ALL the time.

After Derek and I got married I felt like I needed to grow up a little. Every once in awhile I was going to need to wear something other than jeans and a tshirt with very old silver hoops in my ears every day. I went shopping with my mom-in-law and got a couple dressy outfits that just needed fancy jewelry to compliment. I managed to convince my husband that I needed a set of jewelry for both outfits. (He seriously has a hard time saying no to me). I thought the beaded jewelry I bought was so fantastic that every day I found myself wishing I had some cool jewelry to wear even with my casual clothes. Of course our budget did not support this in the least, so I continued to sport the little silver hoops on a regular basis.

Derek's grandma was visiting and she and I were chatting... I honestly can't think of what the initial point of our conversation was, but she told me about a lady at her church who got simple supplies from a craft store and had a bunch of ladies over from church to make jewelry. She said it was so easy. I was immediately interested and began researching...

Go ahead, google "how to make jewelry" and see if it doesn't stress you out a little.

Not only is there TONS of info out there, there's TONS of different ways to make jewelry! The tools and supplies necessary seemed endless. And so many terms had me wondering if there was some sort of jewelry-making dictionary I could refer to. Typical me, I decided to give up on the idea. But not before I mentioned it to my sister and sis-in-law.

Christmas that year (2007), my sisters combined efforts and got me a little starter kit! And the best part, my sister's friend makes jewelry and agreed to teach me some basics! I honestly don't think I would be doing this right now if it weren't for Jen, Steph, and Candace. Thank you.

Ever since I've been stocking up on beads, studying and learning new techniques, and selling my creations online and to friends and family. Sometimes I like to look at old beading books I got in the beginning and look at the designs I thought were way too hard for me to ever create, that now are part of my regular repetoir. I love teaching myself and whipping out pieces that make my husband proud :)

I'm currently venturing into the world of wire jewelry. My sister-in-law is helping me by designing beaded jewelry while I focus on learning the new and more difficult techniques of wirework. Steph is so good at designing! I love that she enjoys creating with me!

One of Steph's designs - Crystal Ball Dangles. Love these!

One of my fave wire wrapped creations - Forever Pearls Ring.

So that's the background. In the near future I'm going to post about some basic tools needed for making simple beaded jewelry. Then an earring tutorial! Until then, enjoy shopping :)

DandLsDangLs.com

Welcome!!

My name is Lindsay. I make jewelry. That's what this blog is all about!

Here you will find tutorials, tips, sales, contests, giveaways, and whatever else I can think of related to handcrafted jewelry! If you like to make jewelry, want to learn how, or simply like handcrafted jewelry, be sure to follow this blog!

A little about me -

I am a stay-at-home mom to two of the most precious babes. Marie Love is 2. Jack is 3 months. My amazing and handsome husband is in full-time Christian ministry. We currently reside in Indiana and will hopefully soon be home owners! We love our life and are so grateful to our God for His many blessings!

I love making jewelry. I'll share a little more about how I got here in my next post. But I've gotta answer that question tugging at the back of your mind... What is "DandLs DangLs"?? Or maybe you just want to know how to pronounce it. Well I'll help you with both.

DandLs DangLs is my handcrafted jewelry business. I make and sell jewelry mostly, but not exclusively, online. I love to take custom orders and finding ways to give my jewelry away :)

DandLs is pronounced just as it looks. It actually began as "D and L" which stands for my husband's and my initials: D(erek) and L(indsay). My family began calling us DandL - as one word.

When I began this business venture, my awesomely creative Dad came up with DandL's Dangles. We turned it into DandLs DangLs because it looks cool. In the online world, looks are very important!

That should satisfy your curiosity. If not, let me know! Please visit my website - DandLsDangLs.com - to find all my pieces available for purchase. You'll also find galleries of my past creations to check out more of what I can do for you!