Coupon code for Already Pretty readers

Whew, what a response! Thanks for all your feedback about my guest post at Already Pretty. I've been overwhelmed with your comments, emails, etc. and have enjoyed reading everyone's perspectives.

To say thanks for your support, I'm offering a coupon code in my Etsy shop. Visit the Stacybeads Jewelry shop, pick out some goodies, and when you're ready to check out, enter coupon code APGUEST2011 to receive free shipping on your order. Get a jump start on some holiday shopping, or treat yourself to something special. This coupon will expire on 10/31/11.

And if you haven't yet "liked" Stacybeads Jewelry on Facebook, you can do so by following the link in my sidebar.

Thanks again, everyone. You're fabulous.

Guest post on Already Pretty

Today I'm honored to have a guest post on one of my favorite blogs, Already Pretty. Thank you, Sally, for inviting me!

Stacybeads Style: Smoke & Mirrors

It's been a long time since I've played with Polyvore to create some styling ideas for you with Stacybeads. Fall is on my mind today, and I started thinking about how gorgeous the Smoke & Mirrors necklace would be for an autumn wedding. What do you think?

Smoke & Mirrors necklace: Czech fire-polished glass beads, pewter clasp with chain for adjustable length. $54.00

New and improved

Sometimes after I've created a piece of jewelry, photographed it, and put it up for sale in my Etsy shop, I have second thoughts. A little light bulb comes on over my head and I go, Ah ha! That piece could be improved if I changed X/Y/Z about it.

Recently, that was the case with my Metropolitan necklace design. The necklace had been for sale on Etsy for a while, when I had an idea to make it even better (which was a shame, because I did like it the way it was, and I was really happy with the photos I took of it). I donated the original to a charity auction, and am now about to embark on a re-do that I believe will make the necklace even more awesome.

The Metropolitan was beautiful in its first incarnation (left), but when I did a custom piece (right) for a client using these hammered silver links, I realized I wanted to replace the finer silver links of Metropolitan with something more substantial. (Click photo to enlarge.)

I'll be constructing the new version this weekend. The more dramatic links will be a great addition to this bold necklace!

Me-Made-June recap

Greetings, Stacybeads fans! I hope you're all having a wonderful summer (or winter, for you friends in the southern hemisphere). After a bit of a break, I'm ready to refocus and begin looking ahead. I have some lovely new things in the works for fall, which I look forward to telling you all about.

But first, a look back. Me-Made-June was a great success, and I'm pleased to report that I was able to incorporate Stacybeads jewelry into each and every one of my outfits. The photos here represent a few of my favorites. Jewelry is such a fun, easy way to change up your look or add a bit of color and sparkle to a tried and true outfit.

What are your favorite ways to use jewelry in your everyday style?

Joining Me-Made-June

[I'm cross-posting this from my personal blog, Stacyverb.]



Last spring, I was one of the participants in Me-Made-May. This event was the brainchild of the fabulous Zoe from "So, Zo..." and it was a lot of fun. The idea was for bloggers who make their own fashions to wear their own creations every day for a month and document it on their blogs. I enjoyed the challenge of getting my me-made clothes into more frequent rotation in my wardrobe, and I met lots of cool, creative people on the internet during the process.

Now Zoe is organizing another such event, Me-Made-June. I've been debating about whether or not to sign up. With two jobs and various other stresses, my schedule has been overwhelming, so I haven't had time to do any sewing since last fall. Plus, documenting the outfits every day can be time-consuming, which could get tricky since free time is so hard for me to come by right now.

But I've decided to take the plunge. Two things I've been dearly missing lately are blogging and sewing, so I'm hoping Me-Made-June will motivate me to find ways to make both of these things higher priorities in my life again. I might not have time to sew anything new (although surely I can carve out enough time to make at least one new thing...), but at least my existing me-made items can get more action. Plus, jewelry counts! So that takes a bit of pressure off of the sewing.

Let's make it official with the Me-Made-June pledge: 'I, Stacy, of Stacyverb, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-June '11. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made garment or piece of jewelry each day for the duration of June 2011.'

Material Girl: Czech pressed glass

Hey, all! Welcome to a new feature I'm calling Material Girl, where I'll be focusing on some of my favorite materials to use in jewelry making. In the spotlight today is Czech pressed glass.

According to Shipwreck Beads, one of the primary distributors of Czech beads:

"Pressed Glass beads are one of the oldest types of beads, dating back over 300 years. Pressed glass beads are formed by pressing a heated glass rod into a mold."

Czech beads set the standard for outstanding craftsmanship and vivid colors. The heating process of the pressed glass creates a smooth, polished finish, making these beads shine like hard candy. Delicious!*

Pressed glass beads come in a huge variety of shapes, colors, and special effects such as metallic and opalescent. For spring and summer I've been focusing on the vibrant opaque beads. A lot of people ask me if these beads are ceramic or Bakelite because of their bright, glossy colors. They're often surprised that such bold, solid colors can be achieved with glass.

Chicklette necklace

Tomato earrings


Tranquility necklace

Stay tuned for future installments in the Material Girl series to learn more about the beads you see in Stacybeads jewelry.

*But please don't, you know, eat the beads.

Stacybeads style

Sometimes when I'm submitting work to a show or a new boutique, I'm asked to describe the style of my jewelry. It's not always easy to do (sometimes they literally want me to describe it with one word!) because my work isn't really homogeneous. But I think it breaks down into three main categories, which I try to represent in my banner here on the blog and in the Etsy shop.

• Bright and sassy: The gleaming white Chicklette necklace on the right end of my banner is an example of this. Most of the pieces in this category are made from one of my favorite bead materials, Czech glass. The beads are opaque, glossy and available in a mind-boggling array of shapes and colors. Very fun to play with!
  

• Sparkly and shiny: The Romance earrings in the middle of the banner demonstrate the more glamorous, dressy side of Stacybeads. For these designs, I use Swarovski crystals and pearls, gemstones, and Czech fire-polished glass. There's more emphasis on faceted beads here, to give these pieces plenty of sparkle. My inner magpie loves that!

• Random and fun: At the left end of the banner is the Cherries bracelet, which I made out of beads I salvaged from a necklace I found at a second-hand store. Like most designs in this category, this bracelet is a very limited edition because I can't get the beads again. It's a fun challenge to use whatever random beads grab my attention, giving them a second life as something new.

What's your Stacybeads style?

Hey, look--Stacybeads has a blog!

Yup, it's true. Welcome to the Stacybeads blog! It's an exciting new way for me to keep in touch with my friends and customers and to meet new ones. With the blog, I want to be able to give you an in-depth look at what goes on behind the scenes here at Stacybeads world HQ, with more photos and more entertaining and detailed features than I can serve up in the newsletter or on my Facebook page. I hope it'll be interesting, informative, and most of all, FUN!