Beagles Team is having a Giveaway!

The Etsy Beagle Street Team is now having a giveaway on our Etsy Beagles blog: http://etsybeagles.blogspot.com/

Contest ends tomorrow at midnight, EST, so post your vote for your favorite team challenge entry. The theme for this challenge is "Happy Howl-i-days." The prize is a beautiful handmade bracelet from BeagleBeads. You can view the entries, the prize, and see the rules on the Beagles Team blog, so click that link and enter to win! :0)

Beagle Angel

My Mom loved the Snow Queen beagle so much, she wanted one for herself. I made a Beagle Angel last year, and she requested an angel ornament. I bought another beagle head bead from NanjoDogz, and here is this year's Beagle Angel, and my mother's Christmas gift! ;)

Beagles, Snow Queens, and Kings

This ornament is my entry for the Etsy Beagles Street Team's "Happy Howl-i-days" winter team challenge. The bead is made by Etsy artist NanjoDogz. I've previously used 2 other beagle head beads from Nancy to make other beagle figures. I love the detail in her beads. You can see how beagle-like the little Snow Queen bead is, when compared to my beagle, Flash, aka king of all furniture. He loves to knock the back seat cushion down on this chair in front of our picture window, and lie on it to observe the comings and goings within his kingdom. I hope you enjoyed seeing the Snow Queen ornament, and my spoiled little guy, too!

Shameless promotion: the Beagle Snow Queen ornament is currently for sale in my Etsy shop. I will donate a portion of its sale to the local Animal welfare League of Trumbull Co., OH! :0)

White and Brass

Some more necklaces I made; white and brass .

Skulls that were

I wish my supplier of these carved wood skulls hadn't gone out of business! :( I bought as many of these as I could afford at the time (this was a couple of years ago), but when I went to get more recently, the seller was gone. These skulls are sooooo cool! They are made from carved wood, natural color, unstained. Although the light color of the wood resembles bone, I think the detail is so much better than the carved bone skulls and not as "Halloweenish" (aka cheap looking) as the plastic skull beads. I created these to sell on eBay, before I discovered Etsy, and sold them all really fast! They actually were a lot nicer than these "pre-photoshop days" photos show. I'd love to make some more necklaces like them, but only these skulls will do! If anyone can tell me where to get the carved wood skulls, I would greatly appreciate it! :)

More Colassal Flops Yay

Tried these in my Etsy shop. Didn't sell a single one. The pendants are from Los Angeles, bought at a flea market. They are made from brass bullet shell casings that have been melted down and re-cast. I made the necklaces using vintage beads, jewelry findings, and my 2 hands. The necklace designs are from my itty bitty head. So much for my creativity. Anyway, here are what I call the Ladies from L.A. Meh

Just wondering....

I've been thinking a lot about my jewelry-making ways. I just can't seem to figure out what makes my jewelry so unsellable. I like to do necklaces in different styles, use different materials, and therefore have a wide range of choices in my Etsy shop. Maybe a bad idea? I'm wondering if I should make one "kind" of necklace only, and see if having a certain "style" would help my sales. Maybe I'm confusing people. If they are looking for a certain type of necklace, probably nobody would say," Hey, MsAnomaly makes those. I'll look in her shop!" Nope, probably not. It's because I don't make only "those." I make summa them, fewa that, couple'a this, a buncha these, and of course, those, too.

My biggest problem with sticking to one style of jewelry; boredom. My boredom. When I make the same thing over and over and over, it gets tedious, I get bored (there's no challenge anymore), and then I hate doing it. It's work, not fun. It's production, not art. It's efficiency, not creativity. I was not made to be cranking out identical items like a one-woman jewelry factory.

O.K. , maybe I'm being selfish and unfair to my family. Maybe I should throw all my necklaces to the crowds at the next Mardi Gras parade, be rid of them, and get that "real" job. Maybe not.

Truth is, I have a "passion." I really, really love taking discarded old jewelry and other vintage stuff, trying to fit it all together into an interesting design, and bringing all the pieces back as something new and unique. The necklaces shown here are some of the ones I had the the most fun making. I thought, "Oh, this will sell!" I thought wrong. So, I've kept them, and I wear them, and when I do, people say, "Oh, I love your necklace!" I tell them I made it, and it is for sale. When I tell them the price, I get instant hesitation. So, I give them one of my business cards for my Etsy shop. Doesn't seem to work. Few views; few sales. Are my prices too high? From what I've read in the Etsy forums, the "holy grail" is: Don't underprice your merchandise! Gee, I don't even factor in minimum wage for myself in the cost of the necklaces! I work for nothin'! I just can't figure out where I've gone so terribly wrong.

Another thing, I am recycling. That's supposed to be a big thing right now. Nobody seems to realize that, but I am SERIOUSLY recycling. What can you do with a broken old brooch? an old toy? a lone earring? some strangely ugly yet beautifully interesting beads? a space shuttle? ;) I love that challenge. It's what drives my creativity. Plus, it's a lot more fun than buying packages of new beads and stringing them one, two; bead, spacer; blah, blah; zzzz, zzzz.

Maybe it's me. I'm just not a "dinky pendant on a plain chain," or "plain string of pearls" kinda girl. I like unique (overused word, I know, but it's the best there is for what I make). Am I putting too much of "me" into my jewelry? I don't know if I could put much of anybody else into it...after all, I am the artisan! Sigh. Sigh, sigh, sigh. Well, I guess all frustration aside, I'll just keep doing what I love to do, and know how to do. I'll hold on to the ideology/illusion that I can make interesting jewelry. Maybe when I'm dead it'll sell like hotcakes. Joy.

some of my favorite pendants...ever!

A long, long time ago I bought my first vintage Terra Sancta Guild pendant on eBay. It is this "Shalom"

<--- pendant. I fell in love with the "stained glass" look of the brass and enamel pendant, but didn't think the chain it came on did it justice. I removed the chain and made a beaded strand for the pendant. Well, one thing led to another; pendant, that is, and before I knew it, I was a collector of Terra Sancta Guild vintage pendants. I always made new necklaces for them; color deserves color! Anyway, here are a few of the first necklace strands I made incorporating the pendants. Since the pendants are copyrighted by the Terra Sancta Guild, I can't re-sell them, even though the beaded necklaces are my own creations. I have a lot more, but just stopped taking pictures of them. Maybe someday I will add to the photo collection, but I hope you enjoy these!

Second Beagles Team Challenge Giveaway Contest!

It's been a very busy and emotional past 2 months for the members of the Etsy Beagle Street Team! The tragedy with our team member's nephew left us all very sad, but we had a very successful campaign on our blog to help the family of little Zachary Cruz. And sadly, 2 of our members had their dogs cross the rainbow bridge. We will miss our little darlings, Sid and Maggie. :0(
Two of our teammates had great vacations, though, and we were happy to see the photos they shared with us! Through good times and bad, the beagle "rule of the pack" has given us strength, determination, comfort, and also life's blessings of happiness, laughter, and joy.
We have all been getting ready for Spring, which has arrived beautifully for some of us, and sporadically for others. Despite it all, the team has had another successful team challenge; the theme this time is "Beagles and Blooms." We started our second team challenge giveaway today, which is posted on our Etsy Beagles blog. I'd like to invite everyone to check out the challenge entries. Simply post a comment telling what your favorite entry is, and you will be eligible to win a great prize! See the contest, rules, deadline, and prize on our Beagles blog: http://etsybeagles.blogspot.com/2009/03/giveaway-vote-for-your-favorite-beagles.html
Arrrooooo! Linda & Flash

Team Spotlight Series

For my Etsy Beagle Street Team, an interview with one of our team members will be posted every Friday! The interviews will let you know more about the artisans on the Beagles team! Just follow the link to the Etsy Beagles blog, posted under My Blog List . Thanks, and hope to see you at the Beagles blog! MsA

Etsy Beagle Street Team "Puppy Love" challenge

This nice photo collection of the challenge entries was made by Beagles team member Frumsglassmenagerie. Thanks so much, Sue; it is totally cool! :0)

I am so happy to see the entries for this month's Beagles team challenge! You can visit our team's blog and enter our team's first prize giveaway contest! http://etsybeagles.blogspot.com/2009/02/enter-first-ever-etsy-beagles-team.html

This is our fourth team challenge, and it's been such fun taking part in them! The theme is always different, and each team member must create an item based upon the challenge theme. This month we chose "Puppy Love" as our theme, since Valentine's day is right around the corner! Here is the final list of entries for the Beagles team "Puppy Love" challenge:

dogsrule, Puppy Love Heart Blanket for Dogs:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19645422

MsAnomaly, Puppies in Love Necklace:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19689522

cutiepiecompany, snow day gocco print:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19729603

creativecomforts07, Puppy Love ear warmer for dogs:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19836879

fatbasset, Puppy Love Beagle Paper Ornament:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19868243

kookyhandbags, Scotty/Checky dog plush/pillow:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19997841

pineapplesugar, Beagle Love necklace:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20504442

CodysCloset, Red Heart Dog Bone Placemat:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=1894185

Frumsglassmenagerie, Paw Print Cell Phone Charm:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20847357

New From Old

I've recently decided to dig into my "parts box" and try to combine some of the broken vintage brooches, lone earrings, vintage buttons, and unusual findings into a cohesive necklace. It's been interesting, and I've actually used my pliers a lot more than I do for my beaded necklaces! Honestly, I really am not crazy about head pins, eye pins, jump rings, and wire cutters, but I figure I might as well work on becoming a little more adept at using them. I also get more satisfaction from making these "new" jewelry pieces, because most are compilations of things that would have probably been tossed out as useless. shudder, shudder. That so goes against the grain for me. If it's vintage, and pretty, and most of all unique, it's not useless; it just needs reinvented! So, here are a few of my recent attempts. I've not sold any from my Etsy shop yet, though they are all listed there now. http://www.MsAnomaly.etsy.com I realize many people don't look at vintage the way I do (TREASURE!). The necklaces certainly are unique, though, and creative...I think, and it's also a great way to follow the 3 R's of recycling. I hope you like them. :)

Third Team Challenge and 2 Successes!

Oh, so busy over the holidays! Cleaning, decorating, baking, baking, baking! I was also sick with bronchitis for two weeks before Christmas, though I ignored it until I finally felt so horrible I did go to the Dr. Many meds got me finally feeling better, but not 100%. Good enough to finally get something posted here, though! I would like to share the item I made for the third Etsy Beagle Street Team's challenge. The theme was "Warm Winter Wishes," and I purchased the beagle-head bead on my ornament entry from Etsy bead artist NanjoDogz. It is the second time I have used one of her beagle beads in my designs, and I absolutely love the details and expressive little beagle faces! I named this entry "Angeleagle." Since so many dogs are beagle mixes, the names for them are just adorable: puggles, bagles, poogles....well, my ornament is a beagle and an angel, so Angeleagle! I am happy to report that she was purchased and "flew" to Florida. I think she will enjoy the climate there much more than what she dealt with in Ohio! After the New Year, my autumn challenge necklace, with the Bronze Beagle pendant (see previous post) was also purchased. Bronze Beagle moved to Texas. Looks like my beagle jewelry is seeking warmer climates. I don't blame them! I'd like to thank the two ladies who purchased these challenge entries. I have donated the stated percentage of each sale to our local Animal Welfare League, a non-kill shelter and adoption center for abandoned dogs and cats. I know the Trumbull Co. AWL greatly appreciates all donations, and I am happy to do my part to ensure that all their wards get a fair chance at finding a happy loving home. Paws Up to my 2 customers who made this donation possible in such financially difficult times; Paws Up to the AWL for continuing their good work; Paws Up to NanjoDogz for sharing her talents and allowing me to make my beagle jewelry; Paws Up to my dear Etsy Beagles team; and Paws Up to my sweet beagle Flash, my inspiration! I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year, and thank all of you for taking a little time to read my blog! :0)