Karen's Wedding Jewelry - Finally Done!

It's finally done, folks. After several versions and changes and running out of supplies and late night trips to the craft store, here is the final product. Karen's wedding necklace. I am really happy with how it turned out. I don't know that the pictures do it justice. It looks so much better on skin than it does on my white backdrop. We are so excited for Karen and can't wait to see her lovely self dressed up and all fancy on her special day. Congrats Karen and Jared!

Yes, I know the earrings don't match each other. I'm giving her two options. She'll get two complete pairs of earrings and can choose whichever she prefers. (But I think my favorites are the ones on the right with the white drop-shaped bead on the bottom.)
And just so you can see it all in context a bit, here is Karen trying on her dress. Ain't she purdy? (Karen, if you don't want me spoiling the surprise of what your dress looks like, let me know and I'll take this right down.)

Last Chance!

Today is the last day to order from Chic Made and guarantee delivery by Christmas! So if you've been putting it off, seize the day!

Karen's Wedding Necklace, Attempt 2

To see my first attempt at a necklace for Karen to wear to her wedding look here.

I finally found white drop-shaped beads in the size I was wanting. And I added silver, multi-faceted beads inbetween the crystal beads to add some sparkle. (I could only finish one side because I ran out of one kind of bead, but I can get more no problem.)

What do we think? Better? Worse? Just right? Karen? Your opinion matters most, after all!

(Once again, sorry for the bad photography. These sure make me appreciate my nice photography studio in the basement.)

Photography

Photographing jewelry is no easy feat. The lighting, getting close enough to see detail, and the artistic setting of it are all key parts. I am certainly no professional photographer. I have no training in photography. But I think I have a decent eye for what looks good (which is what makes a good jewelry designer).

Lighting was the first problem I encountered when I tried to photograph jewelry. Below is one of the first pictures of my jewelry that I took. That picture was taken with a flash and in natural sun light.

To solve that problem, my fabulous, studly husband built a light box for me. He took a cardboard box, cut holes in three sides and completely removed one more side. He put light tissue paper over the holes in the three sides. He put hard white cardstock across the back and bending down onto the front so that there are never any "corners" in my photos. Then he bought me industrial lighting and set it all up for me in the basement. And wa-la, a light box. Here's what the photo's looked like after that:

My next discovery was that while I liked the silky background, it was bringing out too much yellow in the background and I quickly ditched it for a clean white background.

The next problem I discovered was that the camera I originally had just couldn't handle getting as close as I wanted to get. The closest I could get to a tiny earring was still far too far away for the potential buyer to see detail. And I definitely feel that the photography of the jewelry I sell affects it's sale. So my wonderful, supportive, hubby bought me a new camera. Not one of the big, fancy, hard-to-use ones, but a newer, can handle serious zooming one. It has what it calls a Super Macro setting. And that is what I use most of the time when photographing jewelry. The Super Macro setting allows me to go from this:

To this:

Big difference, huh? You can't really tell how great the detail on these earrings is in the first photo. (By the way, these earrings and a matching bracelet are still for sale in my shop at the moment. Check them out here and here.)

Some day I hope to get an even better, fancy, hard-to-use camera. But in the meantime, I think things are working out well. Baby steps, right?

Karen's Wedding Necklace

My husband's little sister is getting married this December. Her name is Karen. She was at our house over Thanksgiving and we spent some time planning her hair-do and accessories. After thinking, talking about, and looking for the perfect necklace we decided that I should just make it. That way it can be perfect, right? Well, the problem I'm having is finding just the right beads to do what she wants. I need medium-large white drop-shaped beads. I ordered some from another Etsy dealer but they are smaller than I thought they would be (which is why I always take a picture of each piece of jewelry I list in my shop next to a ruler - so that you can get a good idea of what size things are). Anyway, I'm still searching for the perfect beads, but in the meantime I decided to see what I could make with what I've got. What do you think? (Pardon the pictures - my light box setup is in the basement where my baby is currently sleeping.)

I don't think it looks quite classy enough for a bridal necklace. It's pretty - but not spectacular. It needs some nice shiny silver somewhere. And I hate the clear drop in the middle. Blah. I guess I'll keep trying.

My Favorites

There are some pieces of jewelry that I design and it is just so hard to give them up. There are other pieces that I think are great, but they just aren't MY style. Here are a few of my very favorite pieces ever created:

This one I just designed last night! I am still trying to convince myself to sell it. The gray speckled stones are called Sesame Jasper. I think they are just beautiful. I especially love the somewhat serious look of the Jasper mixed with the whimsy of the little bird dangle.

This piece I love because it took so long to make. We labored together for a while and now we are in love. The shell beads used in this are black, but they have such a sheen to them that sometimes they look gray or even blue. This piece is, as of now, still available for sale in my shop.

This is a great example of something that I made and then just had to have for myself. Actually, I've made this particular pendant 3 times now. Once for myself, and twice for Chic Made.

This bracelet is just so romantic to me. The silver beads are roses, the larger red beads are roses, and the colors together are just beautiful. I think this would be the perfect gift for Valentines Day or some romantic occasion like that.

This set was very popular when it was in the shop. It was even considered for wedding jewelry by several people. The silver mixed with the shell and freshwater pearls is just so classy but hip at the same time.

Here's another one that I just couldn't resist making one for myself. I love the color purple and these Amethyst chips just called to me. I love them.

This set I wasn't sure if I liked when I first created it. But it was very popular in the shop and I ended up making custom pieces like these for several people.

I love, love, love the colors in this set. And the light colors mixed with the heavier metal pieces are just so great. My sister actually bought this set and I love thinking of her wearing it.

Welcome!

Hi. My name is Nancy and I'm a Jewelry Designer. It's an obsession I've had for about a year now. After spending some time mastering the basics I decided to sell some of my creations online. I set up an Etsy shop and away we went. Chic Made was born. The idea behind Chic Made was that my creative friends and I could all have a place to sell the things we make. But then my jewelry obsession kind of took over the shop. There are still a few things in the shop made by my creative friends, but most of the listing are mine.

I am creating this blog to write about my jewelry and to hopefully get feedback from would-be-customers (you!). The readers of my family blog (who are mostly my family) are getting tired of hearing about jewelry I think. Speaking of my family, I suppose I should mention that beside being a jewelry designer, I am also the mother to three young children. I fit in the jewelry designing during naptimes and after they go to sleep at night. Some days it brings me sanity to know that people outside of my house think I may have some talent beyond quick diaper changes.

Creating a beautiful or funky or fancy or unique (or all of the above) piece of jewelry makes me happy. It is almost never a chore. I feel accomplished when I am done. I feel especially good when someone else is happy because of my creation. I love to do custom pieces. My own personal jewelry collection has at least doubled in the last year. Now let me increase yours!