Monday, June 20, 2011

All the beauty of silver for less...

I recently had a friend from college contact me about a necklace for a teacher friend of hers.  She didn't want to spend much more that $20 but she wanted the silver look.  I told her that I could do a washer necklace for her in Nickel Silver instead of Sterling Silver.  And instead of using a Sterling Silver chain I could use a Sterling Silver Plated chain.  It still has the shine and luster of silver but it only costs a fraction of the price.  Nickel silver actually contains no silver at all.  It is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc.  


So instead of a piece that would cost about $30 using Sterling Silver, I was able to give her the look she wanted for only $20.  I think it looks great and it's thicker and stronger than Sterling Silver and his has a nice high gloss shine to it. 





Brag Bracelet




This is a Brag Bracelet I made for my Mother. She has 12 grandchildren. It's difficult to fit all that stuff on one piece of jewelry and not have it weigh a ton, unless you use a really tiny font. Each blank has the name of a grandchild along with the corresponding birthstone bead. This item is done in brass and gold plated base metal materials. It can be done in sterling silver, copper or antique brass as well.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Your Pet Can Look Fabulous Too!

Are there any pet owners out there who would be interested in dog tags for their dogs (or cats or iguanas or whatever kind of pet you have)? Something LIKE this one...it could say whatever you want...*this is not my work*















Here is another idea for a pet tag. It is done in a bezel (a metal tray pendant, they come in many shapes and sizes), designer paper (again, many to choose from) and sealed/finished with resin. It can say anything you like but this example shows the pet's name and contact information. *this is just an example...this is not my work*. This would be $12-$15 depending on size and shape of bezel used.


Little Fairy Princess Pendants

I will now be offering these fairy pendant charms. I can do them in hot pink/orange, light pink, chartreuse/turquoise, blue/green, sea foam, dusty blue, blue zircon and purple. They would be cute all alone on a chain or paired with a small round blank with an initial or heart stamp. The pendant alone is $15. It would be on a sterling silver PLATED chain. Add the small round stamping blank and it would be $25. I think they are adorable.



Sterling Silver Prices...

The price of sterling silver has gone up.  What this means is that I will no longer be offering sterling silver chains for stamped necklaces and bracelets.  I will be offering many different choices of sterling silver PLATED chains instead.  This makes it possible to have several choices of chain and longer lengths without the expensive price.  There are so many styles of chain out there that are sterling plated and they are quite beautiful.  

These chains are made from either solid brass or copper or an alloy of both. The base metal is electroplated with a silver plating consisting of approximately 30% silver. 

So when ordering a stamped necklace, you can pick from a few different styles of sterling plated chains.  

However if you still wish to have a sterling silver chain it is still available.  But I will have you know that I will have to charge more for it.

I hope you all understand.  I'm trying to make my products reasonable for anyone to purchase. And I believe it's the personalized, custom, stamped piece that people really want...not the chain it's hanging on, right?

Thank you.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Can I pick your strings?

I just made my first guitar pick key chain and I think it turned out really cool!  The letters are what the customer wanted but it can be personalized any way YOU like!
It is made from an aluminum guitar pick stamping blank so it's lightweight but very durable.

A key chain like this costs $12.