Silver and pink wire wrapped dichroic glass jewelry set: fused glass necklace and earrings

This week, I had dinner with an artist friend and explained to her how to set up an Etsy shop. I suggested that she create some smaller, less expensive paintings to round out her collection, which includes large, expensive pieces. Granted her paintings are gorgeous and with the months of work she put into them are worth the money she charges... but if she's selling online, she'll need to expand her market if she wants to make steady money from her art.

When it comes to my jewelry, I'm basically the opposite as my friend. I use inexpensive materials and charge pretty low prices for my items. I don't use real gemstones in my work and my prices reflect my pieces for what they are: fun costume jewelry.

However, I've been offering some bigger ticket glass items, mainly in the form of jewelry sets... and to my surprise (and delight), they've sold quickly. Each time I've posted a jewelry set on Etsy, it's been purchased within a month of being listed. My husband's advice: "Well, that means you should make more!" Duh, right?

I don't want to slap any old set together just to make money. These pieces take a long time to complete and I only sell the ones I'd wear myself. For all of the pieces I list, I have a lot of reject pile projects, as well. Sometimes my friends want those, so my effort wasn't a total waste!

I recently finished a new set using just two kinds of dichroic glass: mirrored silver and crinkle-cut pink. I call these necklace and earrings my Pink Lady piece:

When I have a pile of colorful glass in front of me, it's difficult not to reach for every shade and pattern. I like this simple striped design, though, and how only two glass layers are used. I've added another clear layer to the silver, but I don't like how it looks. Most colors turn shiny and sparkly when they're under clear glass, but the silver becomes muted. I prefer it when it has that metallic sheen.

I wasn't going to add the Swarovski crystals, but there's a tiny burn mark on the pendant. The piece looks OK when it's bare, but the pink crystals add some pizzazz -- and cover that imperfection. I then wire wrapped the earrings so they'd go with the pendant.

Because dichroic glass has so many unique patterns, it can be difficult to find jewelry that matches. Offering jewellery sets is the logical way to go! Check out my handmade pieces at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

March Etsy Mini: Handmade Wire Wrapped And Enamel Jewelry Designs

I'm constantly updating items in my Etsy shops, Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations. I still have some work to do on the latter, but at this point I have well over 300 items listed in Naomi's Designs! Here is a sample of what I'm selling in my latest Etsy Mini gallery:

Wire wrapped copper bubble bangle bracelet with copper and bronze spirals

My new shipment of 18 gauge copper wire arrived this weekend -- and I finally made a wire wrapped bubble bangle bracelet using a copper base instead of silver.

I usually favor silver jewelry, but I really like this bracelet in copper. The warm copper tones work so well with the bronze and the design looks a bit art deco to me.

I've made several bubble bracelets at this point, but I think that this and my blue, aqua and silver bracelets are my favorites. Next up, I want to try making one that has a silver base and then rainbow-colored spirals.

In other news, I've been trying to wear my jewelry more often. I really don't wear a lot of jewelry -- I prefer to make it for other people -- but I do like to "test drive" new pieces. We attended a wedding today so I wore one of my bubble bracelets, as well as an abstract necklace and earrings that I'd made. And a few guests noticed my accessories and asked for my shop names! I met one woman who makes pieces from polymer clay. I haven't yet worked with that, but her colorful and creative jewelry makes me tempted to try it out.

What's funny is that several of the guests were like, "You should sell on this site called Etsy..." Is Etsy still a secret for most people? If it is, I guess it's good that the word is getting out.

Meantime, check out my jewellery shops Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Handmade wire wrapped and enamel jewelry gallery: Etsy Mini

It's been a while since I've posted an Etsy Mini -- a micro-gallery of my jewelry from Naomi's Designs. Also, be sure to check out my children's jewelry shop, MayaGirl Creations. Happy Holidays!

Holiday Mailings: It's The Most Anxiety-Inducing Time Of The Year

Most of the customers whom I've dealt with on Etsy have been really nice. The people who shop on Etsy truly appreciate the fact that my items are handmade and recognize the work that goes into them. I think it's a great site and love that artists have a place to sell their goods online.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, things have gotten pretty busy at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations. I'm not complaining!!!!! I'm honored that people plan to give my jewelry as gifts to their girlfriends, daughters, friends, etc. And I think it's cool that customers who live as far as Australia are ordering from me.

Still, this time a year can be a blessing and a curse. I think that most shop owners (on Etsy and otherwise) see a bump in sales. However, I feel somewhat like Santa in that I HAVE to get the gifts to everyone on time -- and that adds a whole lot of pressure.

I pride myself on shipping items quickly. On my site, my policies state that customers can expect items to be shipped within 3-5 business days, though I usually mail them out before then. When it comes to the holidays, though, I often get requests for rush orders so people can have their gifts in time for whatever celebration is on the horizon. I do my best to get them out by the requested date, but unfortunately, I also have to depend on USPS ... and the holidays can sometimes slow them down. Hence the stress.

I could send my packages via FedEx or UPS, but that costs a lot more money, especially if I overnight the parcels. I'm already shipping for free at the moment, so I'm losing a little money, anyway. It's worth it to me to add in that touch of great service; I like to give "extras," such as holiday specials. I just hate feeling like I'm out of control. I've been constantly checking the USPS site to make sure that my orders are en route... and it's frustrating when not much information is given about packages on the way to Australia, for example. Tracking in the US is a lot easier to do, obviously, but there still have been some delays.

I don't mind the hard work and I appreciate the holiday sales ... but I'll be relieved when I can relax and not have to keep such a tight eye on USPS.

Abstract gold wire wrapped pendants

I just got a new shipment of 14 gauge gold wire -- which meant it was time to make some more abstract wire wrapped pendants!

These are always fun to make and I always try to come up with new shapes. It's hard because there are only so many ways to bend the wire, but I'm always up for a challenge. Out of these, my favorite is the bottom one, the spiral with the zig-zag top. I just really like how the spiral turned out, especially since it's difficult to curl the wire compared to thinner gauges.

The interesting thing about these wire wrapped necklaces is that I don't get many views on them. If you go to my Etsy page, you'll see that I typically have fewer than 40 views for each of these pieces, whereas my infinity ring has two-thousand something. However, almost all of these abstract pendants have sold. I guess the people who bother to click on them know exactly what they want? Last night, I actually made my quickest sale every, which was very cool. I listed that top pendant -- the "S"-shaped one -- then went to refresh the page and it was gone. I was wondering what happened to my listing ... and then saw that in the minute I'd posted it, I'd made a sale! Woo hoo! I wish that all of my sales went so quickly and smoothly, but this was a nice surprise.

Now that I think about it, the very first piece I sold in Etsy was one of these gold pendants. I think people like them because they're so simple and classic. That's why I like to make them. Sure, I'm learning different techniques like champleve enameling, but these pendants will stay in style forever.

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Selling on Etsy: Pricing items on Etsy

I've been selling my handmade jewelry on Etsy at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations for about two years now and often get questions about how a prospective seller should price his or her items. The simple answer: it depends.

I don't have a hard and fast formula for how I come up with my prices. I generally charge according to the cost of materials, labor involved and also take into account the price of similar items on the site. So far, this seems to work for me as I've managed to keep my items priced reasonably while still making a profit -- though some people have advised me to charge a bit higher than I am right now.

I've started to do that with some items. My recently-listed enamel and copper wire wrapped Fire And Ice necklace took WEEKS to make and expensive materials were used. Therefore, I've listed it for $100. It's pretty expensive, but it's a one-of-a-kind piece and I can't just give it away for $10; not after all of the work I've put into it. The same goes for my copper wire wrapped Nefertiti's Kiss necklace, which I list for $50.

On the other hand, I charge $15 for my classic silver wire wrapped infinity ring. The materials aren't too expensive and it's fairly easy to make, so the cost is about right. When I add Swarovski crystals to make a birthstone infinity ring, I bump up the price to $18 to accont for the additional materials. I also charge $18 for some of my wire wrapped lava stone necklaces that incorporate crystals.

When you price your items, don't lowball too much. You want people to be able to afford your work, but you also have to remember that your work has value! Jewellery stores aren't afraid to charge hundreds of dollars for small pieces. Handmade items are very special and most people will understand and appreciate this.

Wire wrapped jewelry design gallery

Since it's a new year, here's a look at my latest Etsy mini gallery. To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewellery, head to MayaGirl Creations.

Handmade Wire Jewelry: My Jewellery Making New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! I don't make a big deal out of New Year's resolutions because I'm always working on some new project or goal. However, I do like to begin each new year with a clean, fresh mind and with some new goals in mind. Here is what I'd like to achieve in regards to my jewelry businesses:

Spend more time promoting my children's shop, MayaGirl Creations. I'm really pleased with how well its done considering how little I've advertised for it. I opened the shop in June and during the past six months, I've sold more than twice as many items as I did during the first YEAR of Naomi's Designs! I also sold some children's items in person at craft fairs. I know that I can be even more successful, though, if I list more items on Etsy. So I plan to spend more time making kids' items and will be more diligent about promoting them.

Put together a book featuring tutorials of several of my wire wrapped jewelry projects. A few people have said that I should teach jewelry making so this will be my way of doing so. Ideally, the book will include 10 projects ranging from easy to intermediate, with step-by-step photo instructions. This is a long-term goal, but I'd like to complete it by the end of 2013.

Make more new items. This is an ongoing goal for me, but I want to keep at it. In 2012, I made about 100 new pieces. Not all were listed, but I got plenty of practice. I want to do just as well, if not better, in 2013.

Learn to take better photos. I think that my Etsy sales will improve even more if I have better pictures. I'm still working on this, but I'll try my best!

Blog more. I've been pretty good about sticking with a blog schedule, but there have been long gaps where I've gone without writing for a while. I'd like to aim for three entries a week.

Have more successful craft fair experiences. I did many fairs in 2012 and they were hit or miss. I know that sometimes this success is out of my hands, especially when people come simply to look and not buy -- but I want to maximize my experience as much as I can.

Sell my work to stores. This one is a little out of my control. I've tried doing this already, but many stores aren't buying from new artists. I hope that the economy and business improves -- for their sakes and mine.

Continue doing what I did last year! 2012 was a very good year for my jewellery businesses. I took some classes, learned new techniques and sold many pieces. Overall, I'm proud of my work and am pleased with the results. I'd love to have a repeat performance!

To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. To read my novel, check out REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Success!

Right now, it's raining and snowing in New York City, and it's freezing, so I'm playing hooky from my enameling class. Much as I love the class, I don't enjoy commuting in crappy weather, so I'm staying in for today.

I've been busy with my jewelry, anyway, as November has turned out to be a surprisingly busy month. During the first half of the month, it was extremely quiet. I wasn't making sales on either of my jewellery sites and that craft fair I did was kind of a bust. Fortunately, my book sales were picking up so I didn't feel entirely defeated. But a couple of people in my jewelry class then explained that there is usually a lull in sales in early November because people are waiting until the Christmas season kicks off to actually buy stuff. They assured me that sales would increase around Black Friday and Cyber Monday -- and so far, they've been right!

As I've said before, I seem to sell items in groups and this month's trend is my infinity birthstone ring. I've already sold several this month; I'm guessing that they will be Christmas or Hannukah gifts.

What's really cool is that my kids' shop is also getting a lot of sales! Honestly, I haven't promoted it as much as I've promoted my adult store, but a few customers have bought in bulk. Seeing that this is happening, I probably should spend more time on it...

The holiday season is just starting so I hope that this momentum keeps up! Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy making jewelry in the comfort of my nice, warm home today.

To purchase my handmade wire wrapped jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. To purchase my novel, check out REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Patterns With Handmade Wire Jewelry Patterns

It's interesting how certain items of mine seem to be popular at different times. By no means do I consider myself to be a trendsetter -- not yet, anyway -- but still, various items are becoming best sellers for me at different points.

Last spring, I was selling a lot of my chandelier heart earrings. Every other purchase made was for those earrings and I even had a couple of co-workers buy pairs.

This summer was all about the infinity ring. I sold dozens of infinity rings, both online and at fairs. People just couldn't get enough of this item!

Lately, I've been selling many gold and silver abstract pendants. I've sold several of these in the past, but the sales are now coming in waves. I'm also selling more chandelier earrings, too. Meanwhile, September was a successful business month overall, but I didn't sell one infinity ring!

I like to study my sales patterns because it's important for me to know what my customers like and what's attracting buyers. But to be honest, I can't really figure anything out! Both the chandelier earrings and infinity rings get a lot of views on Etsy. So you figure that more views equals more potential buyers. I'm wondering if perhaps I sold so many infinity rings over the summer is because they're an item that's popular with teens ... and it's over the summer that teens would buy them. Many teens have summer jobs, so there's some extra money or they're looking for back to school items ... and a sale is made.

However, the sales of my abstract necklaces baffle me a bit because those don't get many views. I sold two necklaces this week, a silver and a gold, which had 12 and 7 views, respectively. That's it. My silver infinity ring has thousands of views.

The most logical theory that I can come up with is that the people who buy my abstract necklaces are lookintg for something very specific. Perhaps it's attracting buyers who aren't coming online to browse; they're there to buy a certain type of necklace and when they see mine, they just buy it. The infinity ring, though, is catching people's eyes when they browse. They'll stop and say, "Oh, cute!" but won't necessarily purchase it.

I don't know if I'll ever really figure out these sales patterns. As long as business is good, I'll accept whatever comes my way!

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewellery, head to MayaGirl Creations.

Pricing Pickle

People often ask me how I determine the prices for my jewelry. Honestly, I don't have a tried and true formula. I'm no mathemetician so I don't sit down and determine the exact hours of work in ratio to the exact amount of materials that I use. But I do factor in the cost of materials, labor involved, as well as how my pieces are priced in comparison to similar items. So far, this formula has worked well for me, as most people have agreed that my prices are reasonable. If anything, I've been told that I charge too little. I'm realistic, though; I'm working with wire and making costume jewellery. When I use higher end materials, I do charge more.

I'm also very fair when it comes to striking bargains with customers, especially at craft fairs. For instance, a mother/daughter duo purchased several items from me and the mom asked if they could get a little discount. I didn't hesitate to knock off a few bucks. They spent a lot on me and it's common practice to haggle at flea markets. It didn't hurt me in the long run and was just good business for good customers. While I don't haggle online, I do give a free gift with purchase and am willing to come up with a fair price for custom items. It's a little extra to thank my customers from buying from me and to help keep a good reputation.

That said, I was a little annoyed the other day when a potential customer asked if I could slash my price for her. Basically, she asked if I could make a bracelet about 1/2 inch smaller than average size. This was no problem for me. However, she then asked if I could charge less for her because it would mean that I was using fewer materials in the bracelet. I refused. We were talking about a few milimeters worth of material -- literally a difference between cents. I explained that it's not just about the material used, that my prices are based on the labor involved. And if anything, making a piece smaller often means more work. It means that I have to reproportion everything and make the measurements that much more precise. As an example, when making my kids' jewelry, I use the ruler much more frequently because sizing for children doesn't come as naturally to me as it does for making adult-sized pieces. I have to stop myself from making things too long and then make each link a touch smaller so it works with the design. For the record, this bracelet is $15, so it's not like she was trying to score a deal on a $1000 ring.

Like I said, I think I'm a very reasonable business woman and don't want to overcharge my customers. I don't pretend that my jewelry is something it isn't; I list all of my materials, explain in detail how each piece is made and make it clear that I'm selling costume work. But I do put a lot of work into my pieces and have to retain some dignity when making a sale. I can't have people nickel and diming me.

As of now, this person hasn't purchased the bracelet for me, but I'm fine with losing a sale. I have to stick to my guns and do what I believe is right for my business. I believe that things work out the way they're supposed to so I'm confident that more customers -- who appreciate the work behind my pieces -- will come along soon enough.

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewellery, head to MayaGirl Creations.

Upcoming Fall Craft Fairs

As you may have guessed from the lack of entries in this blog, it's been a quiet last few weeks of summer. I've had decent sales, but classes don't start up again until October. That said, I've been taking it easy and working on my jewelry catalogue with my dad. He's doing the layout for me and so far, it looks great. I'm hoping that it will be finished by next week so I can send it to some stores.

Now that September is just about here, my life is about to get much busier. The holiday season -- and yes, in retail, this marks the start of it -- always heats up when fall begins and the kids are back in school. I'm already seeing the upswing on HubPages, as I'm selling more Amazon products. Hopefully, Etsy will pick up, as well. It did last year when I wasn't putting as much work into the site, so I'm anxious for my efforts to pay off.

Meanwhile, I already have three craft fairs lined up for the fall! The first is going to be a charity event at my friends' house. I sold some jewelry at their place last May when they held a charity party for AIDS research. However, the party was at night and people were in the mood to well, party, not buy stuff. I only sold a few pieces. This time, though, it's going to be an afternoon event (for ALS research; they're doing a walk in honor of a friend who has the disease) where the whole event is centered around vendors. So people will be coming specifically to buy and then I'll give back a portion to the charity. At the end of September, I have another charity event -- this one for Autism Speaks. And then in October, I'll be selling my jewelry at a craft fair that's being held at a local temple. The event for Autism Speaks is the one where I was asked to create a children's line. I'm curious to see how my pieces will sell in person.

I'm pleased that so far, all of these gigs have been invites, meaning that I was asked to do the event and didn't just sign up. My goal is to do at least seven fairs during the holiday season, with most taking place toward the end of November/December. I want to get those last-minute holiday shoppers!

My next enamel class starts in October, too, so I'll have a chance to make some nice, new holiday-themed pieces. I'm thinking of making some enameled ornaments, which will be a nice addition to my collection.

In other exciting news, I'm going to be publishing a novel! No, it's not about jewelry, though I really should write something about a jewelry designer, right? It's a young adult novel called REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD and is kind of a Heathers-meets-Glee-type story -- a dark comedy with romance and some danger. I wrote it years ago, but it's finally getting published. I'm looking forward to sharing my story with the world.

So between my two jewelry lines, craft fairs, jewelry catalogue, classes and upcoming book, fall is going to be super-duper busy for me. But I'm not complaining -- I wouldn't have it any other way!

And now, I'm off to Florida for a wedding and a few days of some R&R before I return home to all of this madness...

To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations.

Trying New Etsy Strategies

This week, I was invited to join an Etsy team that's into doing "Buying And Replace" (BNR) treasuries. Basically, the team leader creates a treasury that features 16 shops and in order to be featured in the treasury yourself, you need to buy one of the items posted.

It sounded simple and fun enough, and I was told that it could bring my shops more views and sales. So I figured, "Why not?" and signed on. I purchased some bath products and eagerly waited to be featured in the treasury myself.

Know what? Nothing happened. I was featured in two rounds and while my list of "favored" items went up, it wasn't a legitimate spike; it was simply team members favoriting everyone else's items in the treasury. But aside from that, my views stayed about the same and I didn't make any extra sales. In fact, I ended up losing money because I had to buy my way into the BNR.

The more I try things like the Tophatter auctions, this BNR, the more I'm realizing that you can't really *do* anything drastic to *make* people buy your product. You have to entice people with good craftmanship, quality, photos, prices, etc. -- but it's all up to the indvidual seller.

I'm not really into joining forums, but I'll definitely check in with the team to see if anyone has some good sales advice. Still, I think I'm going to stick with the old-fashioned ways of selling my own items. So off to create for my two craft fairs in September...

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations.

My latest Etsy collections

Every couple of months or so, I like to update my Etsy mini on this blog. Basically, my mini displays a sampling of my products. Below are 25 items that I'm currently selling. To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Selling Jewelry Online: Dry Spell

When interviewing actors for my former magazine job, they often told me that in their profession a) they could get fired or their show could be cancelled at any time b)that when a job ended, they could never be sure that another would come along c) but they had to keep acting because it was what they loved to do.

I sometimes feel as if I'm in a similar position when it comes to being a jewelry artist, particularly one who sells online. It is NOT steady work. It's dependant upon trends, seasons and the whims and tastes of everybody who goes online to shop. Basically, every day is a gamble and a question mark when it comes to whether or not I will make sales -- which is the case with any business, but even more so when you can't even see the people to whom you're selling.

That said, there are bound to be dry spells and downtimes, and right now, I'm going through one of those. I haven't sold a damn thing all week and it's frustrating, as hell, especially since I made sales every day last week. I thought I was on a roll! This is why I never take any sale for granted and try to not get cocky about sales increasing, which they have for the most part.

I don't think it's me, necessarily. I mean, if I were making so many sales last week, people aren't going to suddenly hate my stuff. And I've been getting plenty of views on Etsy. I think it probably has something to do with it being summer in the Northern Hemisphere. I do have some Aussie buyers, but most of my clients are from the United States and Europe -- and everyone there is going outside or going on vacation. They're not sitting in front of a computer shopping.

There are also no major holidays during this time in the U.S. between July 4th and Labor Day. So there are no events to shop for.

Though I am worried about the lack of sales, I'm trying to instead think about the near future, meaning the holiday season. In the past, I've done very well with online ventures during this time and I plan for this to be a really good year. I'm going to do several craft shows to get the in-person crowds and plan to make some limited edition holiday jewelry and ornaments. I love the fall, anyway, so I'm looking forward to all of this. I'm also trying to work more on getting my jewelry into stores, and to put out a "Back To School" line for my kids' site.

So even though things might be slow right now, I'm thinking positively and am using this time to work ahead. There's always something I can be doing and I figure that it'll pay off in the long run.

To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations.

My Tophatter Experience: Tophatter Review

Last night, my necklace was in one of Tophatter's boutique auctions. So far, I'm not very impressed with the site.

My piece wasn't sold, which is a bummer, but that's not what bothers me. It happens. I've had pieces that have sat on Etsy for months and then finally get sold when I'm not even promoting them. That's why I list so many different things; because tastes vary.

Anyway, what I didn't like is that my piece was shown for maybe a minute, if even that, and then that was it; no one bid and it was marked "unsold." I couldn't believe it. I figured that once a piece was shown, it would go into some sort of gallery for the duration of the auction so that bidders would really have a chance to look over your work and read the description. I didn't think that they'd get merely seconds to decide if they want your piece.

That said, I dislike the fact that new members can only auction one piece at a time... and that the auctions are generally days away. This means I have to wait about a week to *maybe* sell something. That's frustrating! You do get to list more pieces as you sell more, but they make it very difficult to sell in the first place. And then they take a whopping 10 percent of your profits. Yikes.

Etsy has a few flaws, but I find it to be a generally seller friendly site. You can list as many pieces as you want at a time and they make it very easy to promote your work on other sites like Pinterest. I feel like they work with me and that I'm not trying to beat out some weird system.

I am going to try another Tophatter auction because I don't like to give up right away. But so far, Etsy is winning out by a mile!

To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations.

Etsy Mini Of My Latest Jewelry Designs

Here's a gallery view of my latest jewelry pieces at MayaGirl Creations:

And here's the Etsy Mini for Naomi's Designs:

My New Store On Etsy!!!!

Big news! I've opened a second shop on Etsy. In this one I specifically sell children's jewelry. I'm calling it MayaGirl Creations (Maya is my cat, FYI).

I got the idea for this shop on Tuesday when I was chatting with a friend at the bus stop that morning. She invited me to sell my jewelry at an upcoming charity event that she's hosting for Autism Speaks. However, she asked if I could rework my designs for kids since she's already secured a vendor who makes adult jewelry. She even plans to have a fashion show with the girls modeling my stuff! One of the girls is a real model who's appeared in commercials and print ads, so this is very exciting!

Anyway, I created a few sample pieces for her and thought that as long as I'm making this stuff, I should try my hand at a children's jewelry store. I already had all of that bright colored wire and I have all of those Swarovski crystal hearts so I have plenty of materials to get started. It'll also be interesting to see how well I do in a narrower market as there are far fewer children's jewelry vendors out there -- at least on Etsy. Yet the demand still seems to be pretty high because most popular retail outlets devote a section to kids' jewelry.

So far, I've only made a few pieces, but I ordered some more wire so I can create colorful things. Here is a peek at some of the pieces I've listed so far:

Pink daisy earrings:

Shooting star earrings:

Rainbow spiral bracelet:

Pink heart ring:

To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. And to purchase my grownup jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs.

My HubPages Article About Selling On Etsy

One of the sites that I enjoy writing for is HubPages. I've made some decent money on them and it's a great way to be creative with my writing. Anyway, here's the piece I just did on Etsy:

http://naomir.hubpages.com/hub/Improve-Sales-On-Etsy?done