Thursday, October 27, 2011

Jet of the Day - JuneO


My shop name is JuneO PaintedEyes.  It comes from my father’s family name: Occhipinti.  Which means “Eyes Painted” in his native language.  My logo now follows me in everything I do.  It is one of my fondest creations.



As with most artists on Etsy, my craft started out as a hobby.  I grew into jewelry designer when people started asking if they could purchase the necklace or earrings  I was wearing.  Currently my inspirations come from what I see in high-end jewelry stores and museum shops.

My favorite part of jewelry design is using natural semiprecious stones.  I love the mixture of colors and nature’s sense of design.  Following is some research I’ve done on some of the beads I use most:

Agate:  "Banded beauty"

No gemstone is more creatively striped by Nature than agate, chalcedony quartz that forms in concentric layers in a wide variety of colors and textures. Each individual agate forms by filling a cavity in host rock. As a result, agate is often found as a round nodule, with concentric bands like the rings of a tree trunk. The bands sometimes look like eyes, fanciful scallops, or even a landscape with trees.

In my jewelry, I have used crazy lace agate, moss agate, tree agate, "natural" agate. But my all time favorite is blue lace agate.

Golden Leaves Necklace

Freshwater Pearls: Made by Mollusk & Man
Unlike other gems, the pearl is born of water and living creatures
Pearls begin as a foreign body embedded within a mollusk's shell. The animal's defense against the foreign body is to form a protective layer of nacre around the intruder. The culturing process simply entails planting a "seed" within the mollusk, normally either a plastic bead or a small piece of shell, nature takes its course and another pearl is born.

Our cultured freshwater pearls come in an ever growing variety of shapes, sizes and colors, so whatever your fashion preference you are sure to find the pearl to suit your needs.

Ancient beliefs about the origin of the pearl include: moonlight filled dewdrops and Aphrodite's tears of joy. Although not technically a stone, pearl is one of June's birthstones.

Shape & Color

Natural freshwater pearls are seldom perfectly round or even nearly round, more often than not they are baroque, slugs, or wings. Many pearls, both natural and cultured, have beautiful color and luster. Freshwater pearls are noted for their wide range of color, they can be found in white, silvery white, pink, salmon, red, copper, bronze, brown, lavender, purple, green, blue, cream, and yellow. Although white is the most common color, the most desirable are the pastel pinks, roses, lavenders, and purples. The different colors are a function of the mussel species, genetics, water quality, and the position of the pearl in the shell. Generally, pearls assume the color of the shell in which they form.


Necklace of Pearls


Mookaite: The Healing Stone

This semi-precious stone is a type of jasper that is principally mined from Australia. The "Mookaite" is named after Mooka Station the name of the 700k acre sheep farm in Western Australia where Mookaite was first discovered. Here is more information about the the mine:

It is believed to promote good health by stimulating the immune system. It is considered a healing stone that bestows strength. It is said to shield the wearer from difficult situations.

You'll find it in just about any color from pink and brown, red and yellow and a mixture.
Thank you for reading!
June




Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Jet of the Day - JudesJujus


60 Days Until Christmas! Yikes!

Hi everyone! Its me, Jude. The holiday shopping season is ramping up and it is never too soon to get some of your shopping done. You have come to the right place! Many of the Jewelry on Etsy Team shops are already filled with handmade, unique creations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chanukah.
Take a look at some of the perfect stocking stuffers from my shop and several other JET shops.











Click on any of the photos to visit the shops, or visit the JET team home page for a directory.


And it is not too soon to say:

Thanks!
Jude

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Jewelry24Seven!

Hi! I'm Bob from Jewelry24Seven. My partner Terry and I really enjoy making jewelry. We've been selling our creations on Etsy for four years now, and we've found a great group of people there - the JET Team! Our team offers support and a fantastic community of like minded people with a common goal. This is extremely important and is a valuable asset to us ... people we can count on for great opinions, advice and inspiration! We love the JET team ... Etsy just wouldn't be the same without them!

Our jewelry is fairly traditional; we like to put color into it by using a wide variety of gemstones, glass beads, crystal and the odd found object. Pendants and necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings ... we love to make all types of jewelry. Most of it is made with silver, but we also make some copper jewelry as well!

The pendant to the left was made by me, Bob. It features a 25x18mm Carnelian cabochon. I like to vary my setting styles; this one has a hammered border that splits at the top, with a ring bail inserted through the extended border, which gives it a unique individuality ... while keeping its traditional style. This pendant isn't in our Etsy shop yet ... but it will be soon!

Jewelry24Seven isn't just about me, though ... My partner Terry has her own style and artistic vision. We're kind of a Yin-Yang designing couple ... our different styles balance and compliment each other. The shop wouldn't be the same without either of us, and by working together we can offer a fabulous variety of designs that will satisfy almost anyone who loves handcrafted jewelry. Terry likes to combine beads, wire and chain to create her handmade necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The fabulous Onyx and Silver Bracelet on the right is a great example of Terry's style!

Once in a while, we combine our skills and work on pieces together! It really is fun to collaborate on a piece, each of us designing a portion and then putting the whole thing together as a "fusion design". We like to participate in the JET Team challenges this way, and we've created some really nice handmade jewelry together. This gives us a chance to use our skills and vision in a very different way; and makes us work in a disciplined manner - we need to be sure the piece will be attractive and make sense as a whole ... The Gemstone Necklace on the left was created for one of our Team challenges. I made the pendant; Terry made the necklace!


Dichroic Glass Ring by Bob
 A bit of our history ... Terry and I first sold jewelry together in 1983. We began by setting up a table on the street in Manhattan - NYC. We quickly moved up to street fairs and flea markets. We had indoor shops as well, in "mini - malls", and sold our jewelry in huge markets every weekend at local racetracks.

We started selling our jewelry online in 1998 - on eBay. The first piece we sold online was a pair of Terry's handmade earrings! The next step was our own website to sell our silver jewelry.


Moon and Stars Earrings by Terry
 In 2007, we found Etsy and set up a shop to offer our handmade jewelry designs. A short time later I found the JET Team, and we were welcomed as members. The JETs are like our family now ... I've become close friends with so many of the members. I can't imagine what Etsy would be like without my team!

Please visit our Etsy shop to see what we have to offer! You'll also find us on the web and on many social media sites. We're happy to make custom designed jewelry for you on request and even create rings or pendants for gemstones you have in your collection!


You can find us on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/jewelry24seven

Follow us on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/@jewelry24seven

Robert Edwards is a proud member of the Jewelry on Etsy Team - JET. He is a jewelry designer and metalsmith in New York City with over 30 years experience in the jewelry trade, specializing in artisan made silver jewelry and custom sized wheat chain bracelets. This article may be reproduced provided it contains this author's statement and all links remain intact. ©2011 Robert Edwards

Monday, October 24, 2011

Jet of the Day - JEMSBYJBANDCOMPANY



STAMP CAMP!

Hand Stamped Three Metal Disc Necklace on Copper Chain

A short while ago, I decided to try my hand at metal stamping. It looks so easy, but I found very early on that it really required patience and skill. I have been practicing now for some time and have acquired some tools to help me get into this aspect of jewelry making. I thought I would share a few thoughts here for those of you who may have been toying with the idea of trying it yourself! Stamping itself is a very basic technique. Combined with your jewelry designs, you can add some personalization and make your jewelry really special. There are a few basic tools that you will need to get started.


·       You can start with an inexpensive letter set in either lower or higher case. There are many of them on the market and you can broaden your font choices as you gain more knowledge and skill.
·       A few design stamps will get you on your way. Try some simple designs to start and expand your collection once you get the hang of it.
·       A steel bench block ensures a sharp impression. These can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes.
·       Safety goggles should always be work to protect your eyes from injury.
·       A stamping hammer should weigh at least one pound. Ideally, a brass hammer prevents bounceback.
·       Prefabricated shapes in either copper, brass or sterling silver can be found online in many metal stamping shops. When you improve your skill and decide that this is something you want to continue exploring, you can purchase sheet metal and disc cutters to make your own.
Of course, there are lots of other things which you can add to your repertoire down the road. Center punches, table vises, ring clamps, bench pins and cutters will all come in handy. 
The key to a successful result is a firm, steady strike with your hammer. Place your disc on the steel bench block secured by a small piece of painters tape. Hold the stamp in your stabilizing hand and the hammer in your dominant hand.  Make sure the hammer comes down straight, striking the stamp dead center. Sounds easy right! NOT. Lots of practice using scrap metal in copper or brass will help you determine just how hard you need to strike the stamp to get the desired impression.
There are many books out there and some contain videos as well as online websites with free tutorials, so take advantage of all the advice and knowledge you can obtain.
Here’s to a fun and personalized jewelry style!!!
Judy

Friday, October 21, 2011

Holiday Jewelry Challenge Time. We Need Your Input!

 The JET Holiday Challenge

Hello JETs and FOJs, (friends of Jets).  As you know, the Jets love to mix it up with "challenges", or a little friendly competition to get a jump on a season.  We all can feel it, the Christmas Holiday Season is already upon the retail world. We are getting ready to jump in and we need a theme.




We all love love making (and buying)  Christmas/Holiday jewelry but this year we thought we would make the challenge "style-specific". So, we need to choose a style!



What style of jewelry would you like to see the JETS make for this Holiday Challenge? Once it is chosen, the Jets will get busy creating their competition piece with that attribute.



The style or theme will be announced on Monday, and the Challenge will end on:



You know the Jets, there will be mad voting and prizes involved; all details will be available next week. For now, we need you to visit the poll on the upper right and choose a style of jewelry for the competition. Oh, and get the word out so we have lots of votes!



Thank you so much for your help!
The Jets

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Jet of the Day - Fully Hooked


October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and on October 20th, the Nor Cal Think Pink Organization will host their Think Pink Day in which they will turn the City of Redding’s Sundial Bridge pink! Imagine that! Although I’ve never actually seen it in person, I’ve seen the pictures and it’s beautiful, but more importantly, its purpose is to raise breast cancer awareness. Breast cancer, with early detection and treatment, has a 98% cure rate.
(You can get more info on Nor Cal Think Pink by visiting their website www.norcalthinkpink.org)
Fully Hooked has joined The Susan G. Komen’s PassionatelyPink for the Cure. Beginning on October 18, 2011, in support of the effort to find the cure to breast cancer, Fully Hooked will be donating 10% of sales from our “pink” items in shop to the cause. Please visit the Passionately Pink teampage.
As items are sold and donations are made. Buyers’ names will be posted on the team page, and you will receive your pink item with a special thank you note and info on what your donation means to the fight against breast cancer.
Here are some Passionately Pink items from Fully Hooked, currently in store:





Thanks for reading! 
(Don't forget to schedule your mammogram.)


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Jet of the Day - Fuchsia Bloom Studio


Hi, my name is Rebecca and my shop is Fuchsia Bloom Studio. Now that Autumn is finally here I have been busy making jewelry that has been inspired by my love of flowers, vintage and my favorite season. I love the oranges, golds and browns of Fall and the warmth of family and friends that come along with it's holidays. I hope you will visit my shop and spend some time perusing all of my Autumn offerings!

Vintage Glass Pumpkin Blossoms and Gold Filled Hoop Earrings - Cordelia    
Autumn Leaf Necklace - Carnelian Brass and Gold
Olive Green Glass and Brass Blossom Earrings
Rust Vintage Glass Carnelian Crystal Sterling Wire Wrapped Earrings- Pumpkin
 Thank you!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

American Craft Week


This year's American Craft Week celebration, to be held October 7-16, will bring together individuals, small businesses and organizations from all fifty states in recognition of the countless ways handmade objects enrich our daily lives and contribute to our national aesthetic and economy.


In this age where mass production seems to rule, it is even more important to honor the art of crafting. While other industry associations have long touted their products, the craft industry has lacked a single way to be highly visible. So we ask you to join us in publicizing, educating and displaying American Craft for ten days each October. Join the national celebration of American Craft!


From fiber and glass, metal and wood, clay and paper, creative hands have interpreted their world. At the final weekend of this celebration, we invite you to explore the infinite world of craft.
americancraftweek.com/about
americancraftweek.com/