Last Blog Update for 2010

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah time. Thanks to all my wonderful customers I was able to, not only give my family a decent Christmas, but pay for my first class of school. I've begun my courses at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to become a gemologist. I've studied gems for more than 15 years and as you may know, I sell them on Etsy as well. I have a complete gem lab and a vast array of rare and exotic gems used for my study so this is right up my alley.

Between caring for my 3 children and my dear husband, and managing all their appointments, I'm finding time to study, paint, make jewelry pieces and manage my shops. I'm not Super Woman so something is going to have to give--and it can't be my kids or husband so it'll be time on my projects. I'll be a bit slower paced on getting pieces made and listed.

I've reduced prices (some drastically) in my art and jewelry shops on most items to clearance out older pieces. New jewelry should be released by next week and I hope to create and list more new paintings sometime this week as I have ideas stewing in my head.

Thank you all for a wonderful 2010. I understand we're in an economic recession and there are many things you can choose to spend your money on. I'm humbled and honored that you'd chose to invest in one of my art pieces whether it's a painting or pendant.

May God bless you and keep you safe. Happy 2011 to you and yours,

Melissa

THANKSGIVING SALE!!! Preview

This is the biggest sale of the year for me and for the first time, I will have great sales in ALL THREE stores! Etsy (the site my stores are on) has made it so we can issue out coupon codes. The reason this is so great is you don't have to wait for me to refund savings any longer. You get your savings immediately at checkout.

So, onto the sale specials. These specials will begin on Thursday. This means the coupon codes you see here will not work until then. These codes will all expire Cyber Monday.

Embound (jewelry store)

Use coupon code "thanks201" for 20% off your entire order. This includes chains that never go on sale (nor should they with today's silver prices) as well as the already discounted items in my clearance bargains catagory.

EmBoundArt (my paintings shop)

Use coupon code "thanks102" for 10% off your entire order. PLUS, buy 3 of my necklaces in this store, get 1 free. Just enter your selection at checkout and please allow up to a week for shipment. THERE'S MORE! With any $30 purchase (after savings, not before) get a free "thank you" gift! This is a sample pack of my work. It includes a blank card, 2 stickers, a glass magnet, and a metallic ACEO signed print. Your pack will vary slightly. One per customer while supplies last.

EmBoundGem (my store for loose gemstones)

Use coupon code "thanks103" for 10% off your entire order in my shop. This is really special because I've never done a sale in this shop. I price my gems competitively anyway and often find I've priced them lower than I can replace them for. Nonetheless, they are overstock of my personal collection and are great for creating your own jewelry or just adding to your own collection.


So, there it is. Please know I really appreciate all your support :). Happy Thanksgiving!!

Custom Nursery Paintings

I have two pregnant friends who have babies due at nearly the same time. Both these women are absolutely precious to me so I wanted to do something for their nurseries. Doing so meant I've had to step away from my girly-girl butterflies and ladybugs and try something new. I actually had a great time making these and coming out with new characters. I've made some ACEOs that match both of these themes.

In other news I have several of my necklaces now listed in my Art Shop on Etsy. You can click on "Jewelry" to see each piece. I have many more designs to come eventually but if you see an image in my digital collage you like, you are welcome to email me with a custom request.

Terraterra and EmBound

I just had to show off these adorable Scrabble tile pendants made by Maybe Kinda Crafty, Etsy user name "terraterra". These pendants were produced using my art images and are fantastic ideas for stocking stuffers. Terraterra sells these necklaces at $7 each plus shipping, however, if you buy 3, you can choose a free one.

Here is a link to view necklaces made from my images: http://www.etsy.com/shop/terraterra/search?search_query=emboundart&search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_5430443&shopname=terraterra

Thank you Terraterra for featuring my art in your jewelry!

In other news, My EmBoundArt shop is going to be debuting it's new necklaces too. They aren't scrabble tile pendants but a little bigger. I have 1 inch circle and square necklaces. I've been working on these for quite some time. I've considered using this pendant style to do custom art pieces as well as customer's submitted photos. My "goal" is to have these necklaces listed sometime this week. But with 3 kids, and a busy schedule I'm not going to hold myself to that.

This week has been productive. Last night I managed to FINALLY get a bunch of new gems listed. I have morganites, sapphires, tanzanites, alexandrites, zircon, and more. I've got many more items to list but the camera battery died so I'm off the hook for now. I also got quite a few custom paintings done (likely to be reveled in the next blog).

I'm excited to see what new items other Etsy sellers are putting out as the holiday season draws near. If you're a seller, feel free to post your shop and what's new in the comments. I'm looking for cute inexpensive gifts for my nieces and other family members if you would like to share some ideas with me.

What's New? Here's the Latest...

I have several projects I've been working on the past couple of weeks in addition to my day to day busyness.

Currently in the midst of making pendants out of portions of my artwork. Feeling crafty yourself? You can purchase downloads of the same images I will soon be creating into magnets and necklaces. The pendants will make great inexpensive stocking-stuffers come the holiday time!


I just got done uploading several new paintings. I'm really enjoying flower themes and ladybugs.

In the next couple weeks I'd really like to begin restocking my gem shop. I have some morganites, sapphires (mellees) and much more I'd like to add.

Lastly, I've made some major discounts in my jewelry shop. I'm really hoping to clearance out some of my pieces before adding any more. I have some custom jobs I'm needing to get started on and hope to do so also within the next couple weeks.

While I'm a stay-at-home-mom and not employed outside my home, I stay extremely busy during my day. I have three wonderful kids, but between therapy, school functions, church and day to day chores, finding time to stay on top of shop updates is not easy.

Thank you all for your support! It means more than you know.

Digital Collage Sheets for Artists

I'm excited to introduce my digital collage sheets available in my Etsy shop now. These are great for making Scrabble tile pendants, glass tile pendants, magnets, pins, buttons, scrapbooking... and so many other things!

I have 2 different sheets available. One is bugs (ladybugs, butterflies, dragonflies, bees..) and the other is birds, fish, crosses, hearts, abstract, flowers... Check out the listings for more details. The picture in this blog is reflective because my husband used photo paper to print the file out on.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EmBoundArt?section_id=7413277

Campus Crusade For Christ

I would like to begin a habit of featuring a new charitable causes that are dear to my heart. This month I've decided to feature Campus Crusade for Christ.

While I've heard of this group I didn't know too much about it until I reconnected with an old friend Stephanie. I've asked her to share a bit about herself and what she does.

"I have been on staff with Campus Crusade since 2005. Currently I am part of a team of people in Missoula, Montana who are trying to share about who Jesus is with students on the campus of the University of Montana. Our heart is that every person here would know someone who truly follows Jesus Christ. I believe that every person is on a spiritual journey and my desire is to help them along the way. If you want to see more about our ministry feel free to check out Grizfuel.com! It is such a privilege to do this work that God has called me to. I love it!"

Stephanie is a missionary on college campuses. She shared with me the struggles some may have when going to college connecting with other Christians. For believers, connecting with the body of Christ is so important especially as there are often social pressures that can tempt young people especially from living a Christ-like life. Campus Crusade for Christ makes themselves available reaching out to those needing spiritual guidance.

If you would like to support this mission, please check out the link above Stephanie provided and contact her there. Please visit my Art Store this month as 20% of my sales will be going to support Stephanie.

Labor Day Good Stuff

If you've visited my shop in the last couple days you've seen my biggest sale to date; buy one piece, get one HALF OFF (excluding my promo chains). There's one day left for this sale. Still can't find something you like? I've got about 20 pieces soon to be listed!

Coming soon are some more leaf pendants I've had stored away, genuine sapphires in fine silver, Koroit boulder opal wire wrapped, fossilized sea urchin, natural in form copper from Arizona, more pearl bracelets and more! What you see in the picture is not all, but it's what I have finished so far.

Here They Are!

My new pendants. They should be listed some time this evening.

Thanks to Carolyn Eddy

Today I had the privelege of meeting the lovely an talented artist, jewelry designer and author Carolyn Eddy at our local Gem Faire. We got to chatting about designs and our work and our passion for what we do as artists. I left her booth so encouraged as she was so full of tips. I just have to give her a plug for her workshop after seeing her beautiful designs.

http://www.gemfaire.com/workshops/index.html#Anchor-Wir-61769

Carolyn has 2 books out now on wire wrapping available at Amazon.com:

Lets Get Wrapped!: A Self Teaching Instruction Manual for Beginning Wire Artists
All Wrapped Up, A Tribute to 5 of America's Finest Wire Jewelry Artists

If anyone is wanting to learn wire wrapping this would be a great place to start.

Treasures From the Sky, Land and Sea

I've got treasures from the sky and the sea listed today so far but am waiting on an order for my moldavite. Moldavite is a tektite made from a meteor impact to the ground turning the sand to glass.

Listed today are some lovely pieces of shells found on my favorite Oregon Coastline and some Sikhote-Alin meteorites. All my meteorites in the past have sold out and I've had a harder time aquiring my supplies at a reasonable price lately. All my Moldavite pieces have sold out too so it will be great to restock my shop with more.

In regard to my shells, this time around I've given them a lacquer finish, not just to protect it but to give it a nice wet look. I love the patterns and colors in these pieces.

Please check them out! http://embound.etsy.com/

New Stuff to Be Listed Soon

New pendants...finally! I've spent the last couple days and managed to wrap up more than a few pendants. Not sure how many I'll end up doing. I'm planning on a show later in August and thought I should add to my inventory.

In this photo I have spectrolite/labradorite, agate, blue chalcedony with apatite, Oregon's Owyee Jasper, and Peruvian Pink Opal. I hope to get at least these listed tomorrow.

Metallic Prints

I just got back some prints I had done in metallic photo paper. These prints are truly amazing but you will have to take my word for it since the coolness will not show up on a computer monitor. Think about the pearly inside of a white plastic candy wrapper or the nacre on a pearl. It has that kind of a luster. The photo paper is glossy too. It really pops with the greens, yellows and blues.

Here are my current metallic print listings:

http://www.etsy.com/search_results_shop.php?search_query=metalic&search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_7977585

Emma's Garden

Sunday my daughter Emma will be 2! My latest painting, an 11x14", I've named after her. These are some of the colors in her room and I'm now really toying with the idea of doing a bug theme rather than a french-chic. After painting her walls I felt the color purple came out too bright for my initial plan...

Anyway, I've listed my latest painting in my shop. It is listed at $65. It took me 6 hours straight to complete this and the photo doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately my scanner is not large enough to capture a better image of it so I had to rely on my camera which tends to wash out the color. I plan to have this scanned elsewhere so I can retain an image for Emma should I go the bug direction.

I currently have 2 smaller paintings called "Into Summer", parts 1 and 2 in my shop for $10 each. They were the initial paintings that sparked my desire to create something on a bigger scale.

Prints: Their Debut

I just got done stocking my shop up with tons of prints! Some of the prints I'm now selling were never sold as originals in my store. I've gone with the more affordable-for-all option of using the photographic paper for prints rather than the pricier giclees. My prints are on Kodak Professional Endura paper. The Endura paper is made to last up to 200 years if kept in a dark space out of sunlight, and up to 100+ years with typical display! The colors are bright and overall, I'm happy with them. My scanner doesn't tend to grasp the crisp lines and often exagerates color but this can all be seen in most of the first photo images of each painting in my shop. I don't mind this as it makes images more vivid.

Pricing is as follows:

3.5x5" is $ 3.75

5x7" is $ 6.00

8x10" is $10.00

How It's Made- Painting Edition

I thought it would be fun to show some of my paintings from start to finish. I don't always paint my work this way. Sometimes I'll do stippling first. Lately, this is how my paintings have come to be. First I start with a sketch. Typically I see the basic idea of what I want before I even pick up my paper.

I really like to use watercolor pencils for more detailed work. Today I began working with a green pencil for the leaves.

Once I've sketched what I want with my water color pencils I begin to paint; fanning color where I want it. I also use watercolor paints as well. Below is what my paintings look like prior to breaking out my markers.

With my archival pens I can bring out the details I want. I prefer using pen because I like how it looks against the paint.

On these paintings I tweaked the colors a bit and removed some color from my roses. I've cut out my paintings and have since named and listed them in my Etsy shop.

All together almost 8 hours went into these. Most of my time is spent detailing my paintings with pen. I paint because I enjoy it and work mostly at night while my children are sleeping. Iam not sure what I'd do with all of them when finished so I've been selling my work in my Etsy shop. I love bright colors and nature. Please check out more paintings of mine in my shop: EmBound Art

Hi All,

I've been on a ladybug kick lately and made a couple versions of ACEO series of them. With Summer having arrived I'm longing to see bright colors. It has been overcast and rainy here in Oregon. Please visit my art store when you get a chance.

I also have a special going on in my Embound shop. $10 off any of my ID style bracelets until the end of June and $5 off my leaf pendants.

My gem shop was recently stocked with many new listings so be sure to check those out.

African Pietersite

African Pietersite is truly a remarkable stone. I paid a bit more for my Pietersite cabs than some of my others because of their beauty and collectability.

As the authentic form of Pietersite, the African material is the one that tends to yeild the denim blues with the golds. There is a Chinese material, that has been referred to as Pietersite but, in my opinion, it has nothing on the African stuff.

I've had this rare gem in my shop for quite awhile but admittedly my photographs were very poor, not leaving as much to be desired. Recently I went through and tried rephotographing my inventory. There is a fluidity and chatoyancy that just can't be captured with a camera. So for this, you'll just have to take my word. I've priced my Pietersite very low considering my prices for materials and time in wrapping each piece. If you're interested in browsing my store for this cool collector gem click HERE.

If you're interested in more information on African Pietersite Wikipeida has some general information.

Indulge with Sinami1 Products

I thought I'd share one of my favorite shower rituals with you. This comes from Etsy seller Sinami1's shop. No doubt there are MANY great Etsy sellers of quality bath and beauty products but store owner Silvia is one of my favorites.


I have GOT to recommend her Cranberry Sugar Scrub to you. If you think it looks good, wait until you smell it! It's sure to make your mouth water. It has a very sweet smell to it. I'm guilty of opening the jar just to get a smell. It isn't as soft (squishy) as some of the sugar scrubs out there but you'll find when you break off a bit, and rub it in your hands has a nice lather to it and leaves your skin feeling soft and smelling really nice. Check her listings for ingredients.

After my "cranberry" shower I treat myself to my Cranberry Silk and Satin Body Cream (Lemon-Lime is shown however Silvia can customize a fragrance for you). The body cream is just as nice as the sugar scrubs are and feel like silk on the skin. The body cream, while thick, is not heavy on the skin and will not leave a greasy feel. It absorbs very well leaving your skin smooth and soft.

Currently the sugar scrub can be purchased for $9.50 and the body cream for $14.50 plus shipping and handling. Silvia often offers promotions but even if she doesn't, there's always a free sample to look forward to in your order. Currently Sinami1 is doing a free lip balm with any $10 or more purchase. Her lip balms are great and my favorite is the Juicy Peach.

If you're looking for another great scent, my next very close favorite is the Kumquat.

Packaging with Love

Unlike a lot of online shopping places I've found Etsy sellers tend to take great pride in the presentation of their handmade goods. Whether it's secure packaging, free samples, or added touches like gift wrapping or personal notes, receiving a package in the mail from an Etsy seller often leaves me feeling pretty special. And honestly, I'm more likely to return to a seller if free samples or a gift with purchase is included with an order. I'm a sucker for deals. I want my customers to feel the same custom personal touches when they receive their order as I have.

Each of my handmade jewelry orders are delivered in handmade cloth bags by Ole Bag Lady, another Etsy seller. Inside the bag I like to include a personalized thank you note with the tissue wrapped jewelry. Attached to the tie on each bag is a sterling silver wire formed signature heart. The bag then is wrapped in tissue once more. and placed in a padded envelope. Shipping confirmation is used on each order.

There are a variety of patterns of the bags I use. So the bag in the photo may not be the same bag you'll receive.

NOTE: Remember April is my anniversary month and I have a drawing going on and lots of new items. MANY clearance items too!

Emma and Her Pillow Case Dress

And to the right we have the lovely little Miss Emma wearing a darling custom crafted pillow case dress by GirlieBows.

I just love the versatility of these dresses I've seen from photos. Some wear them as I have it on my daughter, or as shirts with jeans, or as a jumper with a long sleeved shirt or turtle neck underneath.

If you'd like to pick up one of these dresses, I was happy with the turn around time from this Etsy store considering it was made after I ordered it. There are quite a few patterns to choose from and the prices are reasonable at $25 (which includes shipping charges).

Please don't judge the dress just by the way it's on my daughter. I literally threw it on her and didn't straighten out the bows or anything. I wanted to keep her new dress clean for Easter.

EmBound is Having an Anniversary!!!

April will be one year since I opened my first Etsy store EmBound. I am celebrating this month by doing a great givaway featuring some of my favorite Etsy artists.

So here are the details, each purchase over $5 from my shop will qualify as an entry in the draing for a gift bag full of goodies. If you look at my items sold per month on average you'll see your chances probably aren't too bad of winning.

So, what do you get?

By OleBagLady:

Small Flannel gift bag with tag

By EmBound:

Blank note card made from my art

3 stickers of my art

.999 fine silver leaf charm

By LaurenAlexander:

3.5x5.5" signed art print
1 sticker of her art

Pin of her art

By Sinami1:

Strawberry lip balm

Milk, Honey & Oatmeal soap (nice sample size)

Lychee Red Tea bath bomb (sample size)

Business card refrigerator magnet

By MeAndMomsCrafts:

Crocheted facial scrubie

By PureMineralsSource:

Niceraguan Lemon body polish (sample size)

So there you have it! Special thanks to my featured shops for providing excellent products and service.

Ready for Spring?

I sure am! Spring is by far my favorite season and I'm taking advantage of the new leaves on the trees and bushes. I've been super busy capturing nature and creating some unique pieces using precious silver clay (99.9% pure silver) from PMC and Art Clay. I not only have some cool leaves made from the ones in my back yard, but some adorable ID bracelets featuring genuine gems of sapphires and one with an alexandrite set in the middle of a flower, butterfly or dragonfly.

My PMC and Art Clay pieces are all made by hand. They are formed by hand, sanded, "hand" fired, hand burnished, and polished.

I'll be spending the next day or so listing most of these pieces in my shop at http://Embound.Etsy.com/.

Labradorite and Other Colorful Gems

I've finished more labradorite pendants. I got a boulder opal one listed. I'm really enjoying using stones with flashes of colors. They tend to be great conversation pieces and bring many compliments. Higher end labradorite, boulder opal and my favorite, ammolite! I have multiple listings for all of these in my store. But here are my latest.

Coming Soon... PENDANTS!

Yes, while I'm not ready to post photos, I've acquired some really cool boulder Opals and Spectrolite/Labradorites. I even picked up a Larimar cab too.

I'm still running my clearance sale until these items are listed. I plan on going through all my current listings, tweaking some of the pendants (cleaning them up) and rephotographing them. They will then be relisted at their original price.

Thank you for your support and to those of you who left positive heartfelt feedback. I so appreciate you.

http://Embound.Etsy.com

New Paintings Coming Soon!

I haven't gotten any of these listed because my scanner isn't yet hooked up. We've been doing some reorganizing of our den. I may list just photographed images of my paintings in the mean time.

Some of these paintins were done back in November. The very first image were the first paintings of 2010.

I'll be listing more jewelry probably in February. Right now I am focusing on clearancing my current inventory.

STOREWIDE CLEARANCE SALE

This is by far the biggest sale I've done so please take a minute to browse my store at www.Embound.etsy.com. UP TO 50% OFF!!

I've been very slack in blogging, however, I do have some announcements:

I have some new paintings I hope to have listed within the next couple weeks. I haven't had time with the holiday to scan and photograph the images.

I am considering letting my gem store fade out. Some of the exotics I have are becoming harder to come by or replace so those may be pulled first.

I hope to add to my jewelry store soon. As with painting, wire wrapping takes more time than I've had lately. I have purchased some supplies and plan to get moving soon.