Great Christmas Gift Ideas for your wife

It's only October, but there are less than 65 shopping days until Christmas and less than 50 days left until Hanukkah.

Here are some great gift ideas for that special woman in your life. :-)

Happy Holiday Shopping Everyone!

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Advertising your handmade crafts online

I posted a list of sites to sell your handmade items that includes their traffic rankings according to alexa.

You can check it out here at Where to sell handmade online?

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Artisan Handmade Jewelry : ABSTeam Holiday Shopping Gift Guide

One thing that etsy does well is to bring together like minded individuals in its Street Teams. I belong to a fabulously talented group of jewelry artists called The Artisan Beaders Street Team (ABS Team) . Our Mission Statement is "Begin with a passion for beads. Combine with creativity. Mix with encouragement. The result is Artisan Beaders; a charismatic group committed to providing the knowledge, resources and support to help members succeed in their entrepreneurial dreams."

The ABS Team has created a holiday shopping gift guide to present our choices for the perfect holiday gift for the jewelry lover in your life. The Shopping Gift guide provides a catalog of handmade jewelry options for your perusal. To purchase any of the fabulous handcrafted artisan jewelry found in the guide, please visit the ABS Team member's etsy shop by clicking on the images in each shop's display.

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Artisan wire wrapped jewelry: A primer

A Wire Wrapped Jewelry Primer
Part One: History

As wire wrapped jewelry composes such a big part of my work, I thought adding a bit of background and commentary about this particular jewelry niche might be helpful. I’ll split the dialogue over several posts for your reading pleasure.

Today’s post will focus a bit on the history of wire wrapping, and I’ll add later posts about tools, terms and resources. I’ll also try to include lots of links to online sources for your perusal if you would like additional information.

Let’s start with the definition of Wire Wrapped Jewelry. According to Wikipedia, wire wrapped "jewelry is made using jewelry wire and findings similar to wire (like head-pins) to make components. Wire components are then connected to one another using mechanical techniques with no soldering or heating of the wire. Frequently, in this approach, a wire is bent into a loop or other decorative shape and then the wire is wrapped around itself to finish the wire component making that loop or decorative shape permanent." Wire wrapped jewelry is differentiated from other types of jewelry making in that it is almost exclusively created by hand. Coiling, wrapping, bending, weaving and twisting wire, making loops and joining components is, by its nature, nearly impossible to automate. Although soldering is incorporated into some design aspects of wire wrapped pieces, typically components are joined via a ‘cold joining’ process, meaning wire to wire versus any soldering techniques.

Wire wrapped jewelry has been around for thousands of years. Again, according to Wikipedia, "the British Museum has samples of jewelry from the Sumerian Dynasty, dated at approximately 2000 BC." I’ve noticed that, while this particular jewelry making technique has been around for eons, it has experienced a revival of late within the artisan jewelry making revival itself. I discovered jewelry making and then wire wrapping about a year ago. After much practice, I’ve determined that the coiling aspect of wire wrapping is a nearly meditative act for me. Additionally, envisioning a practical joining solution to a contemplated design, sort of like solving a structural problem, is quite enjoyable too.

You can find additional wire wrapped jewelry resources at Wikipedia and This History of Wire Wrapping by Mark Case

Next segment: Tools
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ShinyAdornments Jewelry Newsletter

Artisan beaded and wire wrapped jewelry newsletter

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Artisan beaded and wire wrapped jewelry by Shiny Adornments

ShinyAdornments is artisan beaded and wire wrapped jewelry, handcrafted in my Wichita, KS studio. I use sterling silver, gemstones, SRA lampwork, glass, and polymer clay beads. My jewelry shop includes bracelets, bangles, earrings, necklaces and cocktail rings for both work and play.

I like to create things in my Wichita, Kansas studio. I find inspiration in the wildflowers I drove past this morning on the way to work or the suit I just bought that needs the perfect accessory or the strange dream I had last night.

I make jewelry I would wear myself. The materials depend on my mood and inspiration. My goal is to create wearable items for work and play that offer an interesting statement about the women who wear them.

I belong to SRAJD, Self Representing Artists and Jewelry Designers, Member #1084.

See up to date information at http://shinyadornments.com/wordpress

Artisan Beaders Street Team on Etsy is official!

The Artisan Beaders Street Team on etsy is official effective today. We've got our own teams page on etsy.com here. Woo hoo!

About ABSTeam

The Artisan Beaders Street Team is a collection of artisan bead and jewelry designers. Our focus is on quality handmade pieces of wearable art, and each member works hard to create high quality pieces.

We are a juried Street Team with shops on Etsy that have come together for the purpose of promoting each other, the team, and handmade products. Applicants are reviewed once a quarter by all current members.

To find out more about us, please browse through our blog.

Founding members of ABSTeam include:

Abelee's Handcrafted

Beadwright

Catie's Blue

CC Design's Jewelry

Crysallis creations

Crystal Impressions

Deronda designs

Down to Earth Creations

Elbit Enterprises

Jael's ArtJewels

Kaskaad Handmade Jewellery

M. Augusta Woodland

Orion Designs

Shiny Adornments

SignatureSterling

Studio Marcy

The Jewelry Box