Help to prevent your jewellery tarnishing

All jewellery will tarnish eventually, even gold, though it’s likely to take years. You can, however, help to prevent it. First off, leaving it out all the time will guarantee a problem in that area, and do be careful of things like body lotions, hand sanitizers, hairspray, hand cream, etc, as they are likely to encourage tarnishing.

When you’ve finished wearing your jewellery, it’s a good idea to dry with a soft cloth before storing it. Keep it somewhere dry, as moisture can be detrimental. Storing in a dark place is advisable, and some people like to keep a piece of chalk in the box to help absorb moisture.

Another trick you could try is to store the jewellery in an airtight plastic bag, something like a Ziploc bag. But do make sure both the jewellery and bag are dry (or you will be trapping moisture in with your jewellery, and you don’t want that!) and then squeeze all of the air out before sealing. If you want to try this, I would also suggest wrapping the jewellery first in a soft cloth before sealing it up in the bag.

New traffic?

It looks like I’m getting more traffic here lately, so, ‘Hello!’ For the benefit of the new folks – hopefully I won’t scare anybody away!  - I’ll share my thoughts for the inspiration behind my jewellery.

We all know that there is lots of jewellery around – but that’s okay, because there are lots of people who wear it, too! And I figure there is plenty for everyone. When you look at jewellery sites, what do you see? Beautiful creations, yes, some fabulous designs, yes, gorgeous-but-expensive items, diamonds, classy… yes, all of those. But it seems to me that often, one thing is lacking from the designs, and that’s a sense of fun. We ladies like to adorn ourselves, and why not? It helps to show our personalities, our sense of style, or our uniqueness. Why not wear something that also makes you smile? This is what I like to make. That’s not to say I don’t make simple, pretty, or classy stuff, I do. I love to put my own slant on Steampunk,

 

Gothic, 

 Seasonal, 

  

Pretty

 

Or just downright daft.

 

Many of the things I make are one-of-a-kind items. That’s because I enjoy making them, and wouldn’t if I had some kind of production line going.

I like to think you’ll have fun here with me, whether you buy anything or not. Its always more fun in numbers!

Changing times

We’re in the process of updating all of our product pictures as we’ve changed the style, and made it more… focussed.This is why the actual products dropped off for a while – redoing 100 or so items takes a lot of time! We’re also adding more Halloween and Christmas items, so watch out for those. For a starter how about this lightweight wooden necklace in black and orange:

Yes, my mannequin is still pink.

I’m also introducing  flat-rate postage fees for simplicity, which will be: £2 for UK orders, and £5 for everywhere else, no matter how many items are ordered.  

Mannequins for scale

Photographs are really important, as it’s the first thing the buyer will see of your product. Good photos can even sell an item; mostly I’ve been really pleased with ours but one recurring issue I have is with scale. Those earrings might look cute, but how do you know that they will hang just under an ear lobe or down by your knees without any kind of reference?

I do, of course, describe all this in the listing but a lot of people just can’t visualise without an actual image to look at, and here is where my problem lay. I’ve tried using a ruler, or coins, etc, but it doesn’t work that well. Some sellers use a human model, but I know that squicks some people, as they don’t want jewellery somebody else has worn, and since a lot of my stuff is OOAK, it’s a bit awkward. So, I figured the best option was something like a dressmakers’ dummy, a dress form, or something like those that might be used in shop display.

The local shops had what I wanted but they’re quite dear, like, £30 ($50?) minimum, and usually a lot more.Not exorbitant, but more than I really wanted to pay. We went into Dunhelm Mill the other day, and they had this dress form half price, reduced because it was damaged. The poor thing was listing to one side (My husband reckoned she’d been on the sherry!) She was kind of pink and frothy but I decided I could change the outfit. Anyway, my beloved crouches down and dives under the frothy skirt (he has no shame, my husband!) and declares he can fix it. It wouldn’t be something the shop can do because it would mean cutting the fabric underneath to put in a new plate, so we bought it. Twenty minutes after getting home, the mannequin is repaired and looking good as new. Still pink, as I discovered the outfit was actually stuck on but by then I was getting used to it anyway. And it amuses me to see Steampunk or gothic stuff modelled on a pink pinny.

Say hello to Polly (we name everything in our house!) in all her pink finery. 

Since Polly, I have also added a head mannequin and, more recently, a hand. Neither of these are clad in pink, which is probably a relief for my visitors! At this rate I’ll soon have a whole girl!

New Look!

I think I lost my way a bit, and did lots of posts about nothing at all to do with making. So, I’ve deleted all posts that had nothing to do with crafts whatsoever, and I’ve given Rosebay Blog a makeover, to match the new look my shop has. I love the new banner, made by Mike, and I think it looks so much more grown up!

I’m aiming to do some posts shortly detailing my crafting news over the last few weeks and I hope you will be hanging around for that. See you soon!