Cleaning House on Etsy

In an effort to whittle down my stock in my Etsy store, I am offering 60% off everything listed through December 3, 2017.  Any purchases of $20 or more will automatically be reduced 60%.  Shipping is still free.  No coupon codes.  No need to join Etsy to buy.  If the final purchase total is $50 or more, I will include a free gift worth $15 or more.  It really couldn't get any easier!

Below are a few examples of the math.  There are lots of items under $20 that also qualify...you just need to buy enough to equal $20 or more at regular price.  To purchase or check out the details of each, just click on the picture.  If you have any questions, please contact me through Etsy.

Urchin-Bead Embroidered Necklace     Regular price: $225  Sale price: $90

Super Stacker Bead Necklace-Polymer Clay    Regular price: $150  Sale price: $60

Bead embroidery--"Don't Spill Your Pills"    Regular price: $85    Sale price: $34

Rusted Cotton Fabric    Regular price: $28    Sale price: $11.20

Stacker Supreme Necklace     Regular price: $75  Sale price: $30

Ellipse-Bead Embroidered Pendant    Regular price: $30    Sale price: $12

Thinning the Bead Herd

   Parts of my bead stash are being listed on Etsy really cheap.  I seem to be honing my creative laser on some mediums that won't require these, so I'm offering them up to other beaders/embellishers at a fraction of retail.  As always, there is no extra charge to ship these and I accept Paypal, Etsy Direct Checkout and Etsy Gift Cards.  These beads are all just 10c each and are sold in large lots.  They are all pressed Czech glass.  I will be adding more but for now I'm taking a break today to create and make art so I can process what the hell happened yesterday.

   Each photo is linked directly to the matching listing.

Call 'em what you want.

I'm selling off my sweet vintage glass tribal beads.  "Vertebrae", "Chevron", "Zig-zag".  They're wavy and they nestle together to make a solid striped necklace or bracelet when strung.  These are available for sale in my Etsy shop only. When a color is gone, there are no more of that color.  Get 'em soon before I change my mind!  Speaking of that, I have created a section for Clearance/Destash stuff.  While I consider the beads below a "destash" of sorts, I'm not opposed to using them for an inspired art project.  They're cool and deserve a spot in the "Vintage Beads" section instead.  Each photo is linked directly to the listing.  Shop away!

                         

New 2013 Work and New Blog

Hello friends and fans!

   2013 started with a terrible creative slump.  The cold dark days and holiday recovery just really got the best of me.  I toyed with the idea of just scrapping Ovenfried Beads altogether.  Honestly, I didn't think that I'd ever really be moved by polymer clay again. 

   Then I installed some lights in my new basement studio.  This Thomas doubts no more that there has to be an endless spring of creativity that just ebbs and flows.  Sometimes it's a torrential rush that turns into compulsive creation....and sometimes it trickles so slow that it seems like adding something to mashed potatoes is a genius idea. 

   I've been digging out beads that were packed up for moving.  A trip to the craft store resulted in some new findings that I've been needing for a while.  Classical music on public radio, even during the winter fundraising, set the mood.

   SO, as I posted on my Facebook page this morning, my big liquidation sale ends Wednesday.  I have new work to post, so if you happen to read this before January 30, get your behind over to my Etsy store and save a boatload on everything you like there.  Don't forget to enter the promo code!  If you forget, you will pay full price.  I just really don't have time to cancel transactions, relist and have someone re-buy them so that they can get the sale price.

   Wednesday night I will be putting it all back to regular price so I can freshen it up with new work.  These photos are items that will be available for sale.  (After they're posted I plan on linking them to the actual ad. If I remember.)

OH, and by the way....just one more thing to tell you.  I have a new blog that has absolutely NOTHING to do with Ovenfried Beads or my handcrafted art.  Photography is another one of my hobbies, so if you like neat pictures of nature and urban stuff (lots of closeups), just hop on over to my new photo blog: A Very Pedestrian Snail.  It's pretty much just all photos.

30 turns into 40

Today I increased my whole-store sale discount to 40%, through May 18.  Coupon code is "MOM40".  This discount applies to everything in my store, including these amazing brand new earrings that I just made the other day.  (Regular price is $65...can be yours for $39!)
There is an Etsy shop event today protesting Etsy's allowance of mass-produced items being sold as handmade.  Although I completely agree that Etsy should maintain it's insistence that items be handmade by the shop owner (except, of course, in the instance of vintage and supplies), I need to be open.

More information about the protest and the reasons behind it can be read here.

Cover that naked wrist, wench!

This bracelet below is a stretchy bracelet I made a while back that I just put in my Clearance section in my Etsy shop.  The little bumpy red Czech glass beads between the thin polymer disks match the reddish-pink perfectly.  That's why I used them.

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This fiery bracelet is made from some beads that I made while toying around with my Stacker bead technique.  I love to make cylindrical beads.  LOVE IT!  And I LOVE to use red, orange and yellow together.  I'd do it all the time if I could.

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Sometimes scraps make beautiful stripes.  This bracelet's beads were made from a pile of scraps that, when rolled into a long cane, was then twisted to get these great beads.  If you don't know how to get your beads the same length without wasting hours with a ruler (like I used to do), consider a Marxit.  It's one of the most important tools for beadmakers who make sets of beads. 

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Ok, this bracelet, even though it's not red, orange and yellow, just really sings to me. It's too bad I don't have a "look" with jewelry....honestly, I rarely wear it unless you can barely notice it....but if I did, this bracelet would be part of my grown-up, nearing
middle age "artist look".

                               


In any case, I could go on and on about stories about the bracelets I make.  I make a lot of them because more often than not, I only make enough beads in a set TO make a bracelet, and sometimes a pair of earrings to go with it.  This week I added 12 bracelets to my Polymer Clay Jewelry section on Etsy.  I'm also having a Mother's Day sale for all of us who want something nice but would like (or need) a deal.

My jewelry is already very affordable .... I don't have a big ego about my work and think that I need to charge a hundred dollars for something (Well, my Bead Embroidery work is another story.  But that stuff is on sale, too.)  ANYWAY, if you shop in my shop, and enter the promo coupon code "MOM30" at checkout where you're supposed to, you will get 30% off EVERYTHING you buy.  That includes my Stacker bead tutorials, which I can send to you via email as a PDF, or via "snail mail".  (If you get the snail mail version, I send two free Stacker Beads as an example to study.) I'm also extending the sale to May 18, because I know that there are folks like me who procrastinate.  We're all human.

Classes at Home

On Saturday I taught a beadmaking class to one of my biggest fans as well as two of her friends. It was a total blast! At first I had pre-show jitters...walking around nervously making sure all the clay colors were out, tools were in place, lighting was good, and polymer clay books were arranged. I think I'm going to start advertising more for this kind of getup. Since I ditched my car years ago (yes I miss it for doing shows), transporting pasta rollers, bags of SculpeyIII, ovens, ceramic tiles and my decent-sized collection of polymer related publishings is a Major Pain. But doing it in my place is easy.

My studio is a really interesting place to create, which is probably why I'm so prolific. My apartment has 'belonged' to many artists, and the vibe is great. I like the rawness of it. It's excellent location in downtown Cincinnati with super-easy parking, close proximity of some nice affordable, healthy restaurants and the library make it even more appealing.

So I guess if one would like to take a beadmaking class at my place, just shoot me an email. I'll give you more details.