Floral Hairpin Tutorial

Hey guys. Sorry I haven't been on here in awhile. I've been super busy. But today is your lucky day!

Want to know why? 

Because I have a TUTORIAL for you!! YAY!

Today's tutorial is pretty straight forward. It shows how I make my flower hairpins. :)

So, without further ado...

The Floral Hairpins Tutorial

First you need to gather up some supplies. Be sure you have:

• A hot glue gun and extra glue sticks
• Assorted artificial flowers to choose from
• Glitter, buttons, feathers, and anything else you like to embellish with
• A bobby pin, barrette, or ponytail holder

Next, plug in your glue gun so it is hot and ready soon.

Pick out which flower you want to work with.

I chose the little white daisy for this tutorial

Now you need to check and see if it has a stem. If so, remove it now. Most stems will pull out of the base of the flower easily, but you may need to cut it.

This particular flower has an extra piece at the base where the stem attaches. If you want to remove it, use scissors and do so now.

You want the bottom of the flower to be as flat as possible.

Now you need to decide what you want to embellish the flower with.

I chose pink glitter and a small black button.

Hopefully your glue gun is warm enough by now, so we can start adding details. Pipe a layer of glue in a circular patter in the very center of the flower. The size of the glue circle will depend on how much glitter you want in your finished product. (You can always add more later.)

Sprinkle some glitter over the glue while its still warm and then shake off the excess. You don't want your hairpin to shed glitter on you when you wear it.

Now pick up the button and put a little dab of glue on the back side. Center it in the middle of the flower and lightly press it into place. 

Once the button is securely in place, flip the flower over and put a bit of glue on the back side.

Take the bobby pin and place it in the glue. You may want to pipe a little more glue over the tip of the pin to keep in place and make it a little more secure.

Let that dry thoroughly before you do move it. Once it is dry, flip it over and see your finished product!! :)

And there you have it. A daisy hairpin made by you!

Thanks for reading and viewing my tutorials. I hope you all enjoyed this one. If you have any questions or if some of the directions aren't clear enough, just comment below and I would be happy to clarify for you. Feedback is always welcome, as well. 

Happy Thursday!

The Everyday Jeweler

Esty Dilemmas

So its the weekend and of course my husband's shop makes him go in at 9:45 to have a stupid alphas inspection. Mind you, this inspection was planned for earlier in the week but a few of the officers decided to stroll in 5-10 minutes late and the gunny would have none of it. So of course he decides to punish the entire group by making them come in today. LAME. Well...now that that's off my chest...

I have a dilemma. I'm not making any sales from Etsy and its just costing me money. So the question I pose to you is this:

Should I bother with keeping my Etsy shop up and running or should I look into other means of selling my jewelry?

I've been leaning toward opening an artfire shop, but I'm not even sure that's worth the hassle. I might just promote and sell straight from facebook using paypal. A lot of the jewelers that I have spoken to do things this way and they see a lot of sales. So, I don't know. If any of you have thoughts/suggestions/advice, please let me know. The lack of sales has been bringing me down and making me less apt to make more, which is no good. I need a pick-me-up, and quick. 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

The Everyday Jeweler

My Internet is Back, and a Poll to Boot!

I am pleased to announce that my internet is finally up and running again!

It's been out over a week and I thought I might die of networking withdraws! Haha

As for that tutorial I promised, I suppose it will have to wait until next week. 

I need some opinions though....

I want to do a theme for each day of the week, to help keep me on track. 

I have some ideas already, but I can always use more. 

So far I have:

• Music Mondays (I'll post a song/ music video to share with you all)
• Totally Wired Tuesdays (Tutorial or new piece of jewelry that involves wire)
• Wild Wednesdays (This will be the "wild card" of the week, so it could be a post about anything!)
• Thankful Thursday (I will tell something I am thankful for and then share with you and giveaways, coupons, etc I have found)
• Friendly Friday (This is where I will feature fellow artisans, bloggers, and even friends. Might do some reviews as well, if anyone is interested in that.)

I also had some other ideas, but I don't think I like them as well.

Must Have Mondays, Thoughtful Thursday (variation on Thankful), Thirsty Thursday, Finding Friday, etc.

You get the idea. :)

Any thoughts or suggestions on this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help! 

The Everyday Jeweler

Tribtany Designs and East of Eden Jewelry Giveaway WINNER!!!!

Sorry for the delay folks, but I won't make you wait any longer.

The winner of the Tribtany Designs and East of Eden Jewelry Giveaway is....

(drum-roll, please!)

KIM!!!

Kim, you have 3 days to respond to my email with your address.

If you fail to do so, a new winner will be chosen at random.

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

On a side note, I have a tutorial planned for next week, so keep an eye out for that. 

Have a great weekend everyone. See you next week!

The Everyday Jeweler

New Widget to Help Find Giveaways!

I found this neat site called GivewayScout.com

They list giveaways in a little widget so you can find them easily. I have installed this widget in the sidebar on the right side of my blog. You can also go straight to their website by following this link to GiveawayScout.

GiveawayScout says:

"Giveaway Scout is a giveaway search engine. Our users subscribe to receive updates on the latest giveaways on the web. Add your blog and your giveaways will be exposed to our large network or users."

Hope this helps! 

The Everyday Jeweler

Blog Giveaway with East of Eden Jewelry!!

Giveaway Details:

 
1.) The giveaway entry period will be from March 9th - March 16th. 

The winner of the jewelry will be selected at random on March 17th, 

and will be notified by email, as well as 

the winner will be announced on both blogs. 

If you have not responded to the email with your address within 3 days, 

a new winner will be selected at random.
2.) Up for grabs is a beautiful set of earrings by Tribany Designs - 

"All Wrapped Up in Love"
These little hearts are wrapped in silver plated wire and 

hung from sterling ear wires by handmade jump rings. 

Spring is in the air, so don these dangles and spread the love!

And a handcrafted necklace by East of Eden Jewelry -

 “Drops into the Sea” This copper chained beauty features 

wonderful rich drops of imitation turquoise, 

and will be sure to compliment any outfit!

 Bring the sea with you, and see what it brings you.

How to Enter:
1.) You must be a public follower of BOTH artist’s blogs:
Tribany Designs - http://theeverydayjeweler.blogspot.com/
East of Eden Jewelry - http://thetaleofalash.blogspot.com/
2.) Comment on this post, saying ‘enter me’ or something to that effect. 

+1 extra entry if you tell us about what type of jewelry that you like best - earrings, necklaces... etc.
+1 extra entry if you tell us about what your personal style is like - earthy, funky, vintage... etc.
+3 extra entries if you link us on your own personal blog!

 Leave us a note in your comment if you do this. 

Be sure to tell your friends so they can enter, too! :)

Good luck!

The Everyday Jeweler

St. Patty's Day Jewelry Set

Good evening everyone!

I just wanted to share with you my newest creation, the St. Patty's Day Set.

It includes earrings,

a bracelet,

and a necklace.

This cute set is perfect for showing off your St. Patty's Day pride!

Also great for those with an August birthday. The beads are all peridot colored glass.
All findings are sterling silver.

If you like what you see, visit my Etsy page. 

That's all I have for now. Feedback is always welcome, just leave a comment below.

Thanks for viewing!

The Everyday Jeweler