Tuesday, December 15, 2009

New Christmas Bracelet - Full Persian Chainmaille

Red and Green Full Persian Bracelet


Full Persian chainmaille makes this bracelet a nice lacy style, green dotted with red and accented with a silver chain and lobster clasp.

Chainmaille portion is 6 inches (15.24cm) long, with a 1.5 inch (40mm, 3.8cm) length of silver base metal 5mm curb chain and 3/4 inch (15mm, 1.9cm) lobster clasp. The chainmaille is about 1/4 inch thick, or about 7mm.

Should fit wrist sizes between 6 inches and about 7.5 inches. More curb chain can be added on request.

Chainmaille is made with tarnish resistant, permanently colored copper 20 gauge wire. It took about five hours to make this bracelet.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Half-Persian Chainmaille Rings

Gold Brass Half Persian Ring - Size 7


Silver Copper Half Persian Ring - size 7


These lovely rings are made with small 20 gauge rings of silver colored copper and golden brass in half Persian chainmaille.

The maille is about 4mm thick square, or about 1/8 inch. The ring is size 7. As chainmaille it is not stiff like a solid metal ring but it fits fine on the right sized finger, conforming nicely to your finger's shape.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Gold Brass Byzantine Ring

Brass Byzantine Chainmaille Ring - size 11



This ring is made with small 20 gauge rings of brass wire in byzantine chainmaille with triple connector rings.

The maille is about 5mm thick square, almost 1/4 inch. The ring is size 11. As chainmaille it is not stiff like a solid metal ring but it should fit fine on the right sized finger.

Size asjustments are possible but size 10 or larger is best for the thickness of the chainmaille for comfortable wearing.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Christmas Chainmaille Bracelet

Red and Green Chainmaille Bracelet - bright Christmas colors




This E6 chainmaille bracelet is made with green colored copper rings on the outside and red colored copper down the center. Gold-color jump rings reinforce the ends on the underside. Closes at adjustable lengths with a gold-colored lobster-claw clasp.

Chainmaille is 5.25 inches long with an added 1.5 inch length of gold color aluminum chain and a 1 inch golden base metal lobster claw clasp; 7.75 inches altogether. Should fit wrist sizes between 5.5 and 7.25 inches fairly snugly, or a smaller wrist more loosely. Can be adjusted on request.

Rings for the chainmaille are made with tarnish-resistant permanently colored 20 gauge copper wire in bright red and green colors. The rings plus the bracelet took about 11 hours to make altogether.

Friday, December 4, 2009

New Ring Listed

Just made my first byzantine ring:

Silver Copper Byzantine Chainmaille Ring - size 11



This ring is made with small 20 gauge rings of silver colored copper in byzantine chainmaille with triple connector rings.

The maille is about 5mm thick square, almost 1/4 inch. The ring is size 11. As chainmaille it is not stiff like a solid metal ring but it should fit fine on the right sized finger.

If there are any questions about size adjustment please convo me before ordering. Size 10 or larger is best for the thickness of the chainmaille for comfortable wearing.


This is not the first ring I've made, but the first one I've made in Byzantine. I plan to make a gold one really soon with brass wire.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Byzantine Earrings

I've finally started posting my byzantine chainmaille earrings!



Christmasy Byzantine Earrings

Made with 18g enameled copper rings in red and green, single units of byzantine chainmaille about half an inch long and quarter inch thick. Hung on gold-colored base metal ear hooks.

Each earring weighs 0.045 oz.

I started making these earrings after I made the byzantine bracelets. See one of the bracelets here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30816753
Each pair took about half an hour to make.

Like tiny sprigs of holly hung on gold thread, these earrings are perfect piece of jewelry for Christmas time!

Also in solid red with silver: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34999790

or solid green with silver: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35000540


I have several other pairs listed already, and bunch more left to go!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Newly Listed Chainmaille Bracelet


Black and Silver Chainmaille Bracelet




This E6 chainmaille bracelet has a nice contrast of black with silver running down the middle. Silver rings reinforce the ends on the underside.

Chainmaille is 6.5 inches long with 1 inch of chain + half-inch toggle clasp; 7+3/4 inches altogether. Can be adjusted on request.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Return of Cascade

Finally re-photographed and relisted:



Cascade Eternity Bracelet / Handflower

Silvery delicate chains hanging from a fancy accent drape over your hand in this simple eternity bracelet.

The handflower is 4 inches long from wrist to knuckle, 3 inches wide in the middle, attaches on middle finger with a 3 inch ring, and wristchain is adjustable up to 7 inches. Can add more chain to the wrist on request.

This handflower is small and very lightweight.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Fire in Black Chainmaille Handflower

Renewed:


Fire in Black Chainmaille Handflower

European 6-in-1 weave in black with a fire design. Wristband is One Hour Less Sleep weave of blue and orange in front and copper and purple around the sides. This handflower has a yellow cable-chain ring for your middle finger, and a scroll-design toggle clasp on the wristband.

I made the links for the chainmaille by coiling and cutting 20g. colored copper wire, then wove the chainmaille. The ring chain and toggle clasp are from a craft store. It took me about 14 hours to make this handflower.

There is some antiquing in the scroll design of the toggle clasp.

The handflower is 4 inches from wrist to knuckle, and 2.5 inches wide in the middle. The wristband is 7 inches long, the ring is 4 inches around.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Chained Amethyst Handflower



Chained Amethyst Handflower

Purple and silver are my favorite colors so I used silver chains and round amethyst beads with silver wire clover beads in this handflower. So pretty!

The four amethyst beads attached to the clover bead in the center are a little darker than the five around the outside.

The wrist chain is adjustable to 8 inches with a lobster clasp; the handflower stretches over your hand to four inches from your wrist to your knuckle, and will lay over the back of your hand 3.5 inches wide. The ring for the middle finger is 4 inches around.

To wear this handflower, put your middle finger through the chain ring, lay the handflower over the back of your hand, and latch the clasp onto the wrist chain around your wrist at whatever spot fits you best.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Craft Fair was Awesome!

SO....

the craft fair was Saturday, setup on Friday; I actually sold some stuff, and made almost three times the booth fee! woot!

here's a comparison with last year.

last year I:
was outside, where there were pretty much no shoppers;
was away from the door, so the shoppers that did pass by to go inside didn't see me;
had very little display stuff and no tablecloth;
shared with a friend with paintings and drawings, who didn't sell anything although everyone who did wander over liked one painting in particular. I think she had them priced too low;
sold a couple small things to friends but made nowhere near the booth fee (or even half the booth fee, which is what I paid)

Picture:



this year:
I was inside, there was good lighting and lots of people;
had a tablecloth and much better display stuff;
had candy and $1 stretchy bracelets;
had prices on everything;
had my brother with me, who's a licensed jeweler, inspected and cleaned people's rings for free
(several people said "no thanks" or "can't get'em off" or "didn't wear them today", but several people accepted and appreciated it), kept them at the booth for a few minutes to look around, although some just closely watched the cleaning;
the tealights in my display were really fun and popular;
I sat part of the time but stood up to talk to customers, and sometimes walked around the booth and rearranged some things, most times that I was doing that people came to look
I brought a lunch and ate it in the booth, but put it down when customers came by;
had small paper gift bags with "thank you" and some info on them, and tissue paper, to put purchases in - people liked that;
we're not the chatty type so we had plenty of attention to give to customers ;-) and none of my friends came by (sigh)- I can see how it could cause a problem if they did though;
I made about 31/2 times the booth fee (except for cost of the extra display stuff, but that wasn't much) and my brother sold a couple t-shirts

pictures:





hmmm, could've planned that two-part photo better. also need to find the "wide shot" setting on the camera. but oh well.

the only thing that kinda went wrong is I forgot my camera at home (fortunately I had it at set-up so I still got pics, but I was afraid I'd lost it) and I had so much stuff under my table (lunch, snacks, cleaning stuff, repair stuff, box for display stuff, t-shirts, bags), it was a little disorganized and the one time I thought I needed my calculator I couldn't find it. fortunately my brother did the the math in his head and the customer confirmed it, but I felt a little silly relying on them for it. but it was ok. also my brother wished he'd thought to bring some of his tools to fix prongs and stuff, so we'll remember that next time.

I'm glad I didn't pay for electricity because the only thing I was thinking I'd need it for was extra lighting, and I didn't need that 'cause the place was well lit. however, my brother suggested getting some jewelry-cleaning equipment that would need electricity, so we might eventually do that.

also I accepted one check for a purchase, and haven't been to the bank yet (closed on weekends and probably today), so I hope it's ok.

btw, the lovely business card holder you see there was made by and purchased from KreativeKarryAlls on Etsy. the tablecloths were borrowed from my friend Amy, the earring display is a picture frame with mesh attached, the necklace displays came from a jewelry store that was closing and were a Christmas present from my sister, and the mirrors and tealights came from Hobby Lobby and BigLots. So I guess I spent about... 15 dollars on the display. Oh yeah I also had candy in a bowl which I bought specially for it, so that makes around 20 or so. So maybe I made more like twice the booth fee. But still that means I did awesome! yay.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Online Fashion Business (eHow article)

How to Start a Clothing Business Online - Tips From Project Runway

By Gigi Starr
eHow Contributing Writer


While many people would love to start their own clothing design business, Project Runway Season 6 contestant Louise Black already has done it. In this exclusive interview with eHow, Louise shares her behind-the-scenes views on the online clothing business, along with what it takes to make it work.

This 32-year-old Texas native and Christian Lacroix fan believes that the future of fashion is on the 'Net: "There will always be a place for brick and mortars, but online is definitely the way to go for most. It’s definitely the best way to get your start without losing your shirt," she tells eHow.

read the rest

http://www.ehow.com/how_5504523_start-online-tips-project-runway.html

Friday, October 2, 2009

Facebook /Treasure

one of my handflowers has been included in a treasury!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=70374

(hurry and look before it's gone!)

And Facebook just added Latin to the languages!
http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=145923442130

that is sooo cool. I keep meaning to eventually install the Latin Rosetta Stone in my computer and start using it but I'm always doing other things. It's been kind of a long time since I worked on any Latin. But now Facebook can teach me a little bit, and maybe it'll remind/encourage me to get on with it on Rosetta Stone, too. :-)

Friday, September 25, 2009

Craft Fair and advertizing

So I'm getting an ad in a tabletop in a restaurant...

it's expensive for right now. I mean it's not a lot of money for a 3-year ad in a good restaurant, but it's a lot to have to pay off in only 5 months. Still a good deal though, and a good payment plan. And my boyfriend will help. :-)

I also have a repeat customer on Etsy and a custom-order customer through email, so that'll help. And then I have a craft fair in a couple weeks and I've already paid for the space, so hopefully I'll sell some things there and it'll help with the ad as well as paying for the space. I'm getting some stuff ready for it, such as display ideas and some kid stuff, but trying to spend as little money as possible on it. Still need a tablecloth. I want an actual cloth one instead of vinyl or plastic, but I'm considering vinyl in case it turns out to be the only option.

I'm inside at space #2. Hopefully that will help me do much better than last year. Along with all the other stuff I'm doing better this year.

I have two fliers for the craft fair. Wondering where to hang them...

I met a cop today whose wife sells jewelry on Etsy. Didn't get her username though. Rats.

I have a new watch on Etsy:

Chained Tiger's Eye Watch

ok I think I'll work on some jewelry and/or craft fair stuff now. I'm a little bit excited about this one. :-)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Best Way to Buy Jewelry is Online

"Summary: If you want to get high quality jewelry for affordable prices, you have two ways to do that, 1st hassling and delaying of visiting brick-and-mortar stores, add to that the time you will waste and finally you may not find what you are looking for; but the 2nd and easy way is to switch to online stores-- it’s simple, saves time and the most important thing is that it's effective; think about having all the world's designs and jewelry products there on your screen."


Read the rest of the topic at http://jewelry-kings.com/96/the-best-way-to-buy-jewelry-is-online-know-why/

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

So Update already

Sold two more things:


Went to AnimeFest this past weekend, not as a vendor but took business cards with me and gave one away. Also I looked at the chainmaille booths, noticed the display stuff, and asked about materials and prices.

Been working on upgrading the camera and taking new photos, and re-figuring secondary shipping prices. Hopefully soon I can figure out international shipping too.

Face to Face went awesomely last month and should be awesome again this month.

hmmm I think I shouldn't use the "cool" color setting in the camera so much.

I made a big lightbox for the larger and taller things, like necklaces.

And I have a craft fair next month (the one I was debating with myself about awhile ago)- I got an indoor space this time.

Craft Fair info:

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, 9AM-4:30PM
St. Timothy C.P. Church
3001 Forest Ridge Dr.
Bedford, TX 76095

I'm working on a custom order for a friend of a friend, so far we're still in the figuring-out-what-we-want stage. Seriously planning on soon starting to use bright aluminum, hopefully followed closely by sterling silver and/or stainless steel. Also I've been planning a certain watch for a long time now and don't have time to actually work on it because of all the custom order stuff and the Etsy editing stuff. But maybe if I can get myself off the computer right now I can start on it tonight. All this computer stuff is kind of addicting.

ok here I go.

Good night!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

My First Online Sale! Finally!

The Plate Maille Handflower is sold!!!


^ in the mail, on the way to the buyer, yay!

goodbye Plate Maille, enjoy your new life.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Featured in a Fashion Blog!

I searched the name "ShadowCutter" on yahoo to see what's online about my jewelry, and I found this:

The MidWasteland

My Plate Maille Handflower is featured here. I had no idea this was here until today; it's really exciting! I don't know how popular this blog is, but it's just really cool to be mentioned in one!

The only problem is that although the other chainmaille handflower is correctly linked to its seller (TogIncognito), my name was attached to it. I left a comment about that but it's waiting to be approved and posted. I'm sure it was just a simple misprint. I also sent messages to that seller and the other Etsy seller featured to let them know they're in there. It's really exciting!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A few of my Favorite Things

Awhile back I bought a dagger at the knife store of a certain mall a couple cities away. Actually I'm not sure if it's a dagger or a short sword. Either way it's stainless steel, which I think means it's not authentic or actually usable or anything, but it is fairly sharp. Anyway I like it, and to make it even better I made a belt for it with 16 gauge colored-copper chainmaille and suede lace.





I also made this cloak a few years ago, just because I wanted one:


in these pictures it's Halloween, but I didn't make it as a costume, I made it as actual winter-wear, although I don't always wear it even when it's cold, because it kind of gets in the way if I have to go somewhere. I wish I could wear it all the time though. I was also wearing my dagger when these photos were taken although you can't see it.

And this is my glass dragon sword which is hanging on my wall:



its name is Darksbane.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Guy Stuff

I'm finally starting to make some "guy stuff", since there've been a few guys at craft fairs and such asking for some, and I've recently made two guys' necklaces and listed them on Etsy.

Guy's Chainmaille Pendant Necklace


I made this one while watching Ironman. I don't quite know what to call the weave since I totally made it up, although it has some byzantine-like bits. It's listed here in my Etsy shop under "For Guys".


Knott Maille Guy's Necklace


This one I made less recently although I just listed it along with the other one. It's a "furby flower" with some extra rings added for tightness and decoration.

I also have some plain double-spiral chains which guys should like, but I still have to take pictures of them so I can list them. And I'm working on a guy's handflower which I hope will turn out well. I'm using 16 gauge rings (same as in these necklaces) and black leather lace.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

My "Office"

Just for fun here's a tour.

Allow me to introduce:


My work space:


my friend's house
I'm making cell phone charms here


my desk
I got a desk with drawers and a little chest of drawers to reduce clutter. ;-) (the drawers are full)
I made that lamp out of a soda can at 4-H TU Electric Retreat. don't even remember how long ago that was.
the flowers are from my boyfriend John. <3
the picture hanging off the back of the chair is my nametag from Anime Fest. I also have one from Akon there but you can't see it in the picture. it's on that blue ribbon.
the frame in the top left corner is my high school diploma from Oakwood Academy.


the spot on the floor where I sit to use the computer. I decided to use this spot to start working on something because my desk is too messy.
that book under the pliers is Nobody Rides the Unicorn by Adrian Mitchell. Lovely wonderful book. also good as a mouse pad surface. ;-)

and here's my personal jewelry which I wear every day, as I'm wearing it:



my right hand


my left hand


This concludes the tour of ShadowCutter Jewelry headquarters. Please watch your step as you exit and return soon. ;-)

Monday, July 6, 2009

Conundrum

A certain craft show which I participated in last October is coming up again. I'm debating whether I should try it again this year.


Pros:

if I sign up right now I'll get a spot inside which should be better than outside, and might even get a good spot as far as inside spots go. if people come to the craft fair I'll get a lot more exposure if I sign up now.

the inside spot costs the same amount as the outside spot.

it's generally a good idea to be in craft shows whenever I can.

I'll have lots of time to invite and promote the craft fair. also I can get a banner for it from VistaPrint and I have display things that I didn't have before.

If I sell a couple of handflowers or byzantine bracelets it will at least pay for the space.


Cons:

there are no refunds so if I pay for the spot now and then I'm unable to go I'll have lost $35, or $40 if I rent a table from the church. also it's a little early to tell if I should rent a table or if I'll be able to borrow one from a friend.

something else that I care about wants some money from me right now. I really want to give something for that and I need to decide how much.

it's hard to tell right now what I'll be doing or how my car will be behaving in October.

last year I didn't sell anything; mostly because almost no people came by.

I need to get some kind of job and when I do that I'm afraid I won't get the necessary time off.

last year most or all of the people inside had credit card machines and I don't have one. I don't know if I'll really need one or not. Also the other craft companies seemed to be a lot bigger than me.



Well, I think I'll just continue thinking about it for a day or two.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

My Favorite Colors are Purple and Silver

Therefore I have two new items with those colors.




Chained Amethyst Handflower




Purple and Silver Persian Chainmaille Watch


I keep wanting to just look at these things because they're just so pretty!

After selling one of these watches at the Praise Festival in May I made two more because my friend wants one and I want at least one for Etsy too. For now they're both available on Etsy.

Next I will start making some guy stuff based on what I've seen worn by rockers on JCTV and guys at A-Kon. It won't be exactly the same things of course but those gave me a good idea of what some guys like to wear. Also I'm planning another watch with a plain face and a band of chains and beads.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

New Banner and things

I finally made a banner for my Etsy store. It took all afternoon; it was a little bit difficult to get the right amount of the effects I put on the text, and then it was really difficult to add the pictures to the ends. Mostly because Photobucket randomly decided not to let me save the resized pics to my computer. But I finally got it and I like the results.

I also added two new items to the store:



Chainmaille Chandelier Earrings
shadowcutter.etsy.com




Spiral Chainmaille Watch
shadowcutter.etsy.com

I really like those earrings.

I made a silver and purple Persian watch which I really liked a lot, and I sold it at the Praise Festival two weeks ago so I need to make another one to put on Etsy. Also my friend wants one so I need to make at least two more. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it. But after I make another one of course I'll take pictures.

thinking of buying rainbow anodized niobium rings from C&T Designs on Etsy pretty soon. I like rainbow-colored things and I want to try new materials. Also want to try stainless steel and sterling silver.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

How it all started

Once upon a time...

I made two handflowers for myself because I wanted them. It was about 8 or 9 years ago. These are them:




I wore them every day, and still do. I became known as the girl with the cool bracelets. People liked them and said I should start making more and selling them. So I did.

I won't sell or duplicate these two though. I made them for myself from my personal style and theme: the "prism in the dark" theme (not Dark Side of the Moon, although I am a Pink Floyd fan). It comes from the sticker I have that says "the dark is afraid of me", and "ShadowCutter" was my sister's idea in a response to something I wrote in my personal blog. I like the way prisms cast little rainbows and how those rainbows show up best in the shadows, how they cut the shadows with little spots of colored light. And how it's like the rainbows are the shadows of the prisms because they're the result of light shining onto them. Bright shadows: an oxymoron that makes sense. So this is my theme.

I took these photos to try out my new lightbox which I made for my photography. I think it makes lovely photos.

I have no idea how long it took me to make the first one (the chains and prisms one), because I made it up as I went along and didn't record the time, and I kept making adjustments and additions long after it was "finished". And it can't be duplicated even if I wanted to, because the chains and prisms came from all over the place, mostly just random ones that I found here and there. Same goes for the second one originally (as far as the time), but when I decided to freshen it up with new rings (because I found better wire at another store), it took the time of Fellowship of the Ring plus most of Two Towers. Yes I'm a little bit of a fantasy/sci-fi geek. Or a classicist. That works too. But I worked on it while I was watching those at our annual New Year's Eve LOTR marathon, so that's how I measure the time. Of course I actually record the time for the pieces I make for sale. Hard to price them otherwise.

My actual first attempt at a handflower was done with fishing line and silvery clear seed beads. It didn't work very well but it looked potentially nice at least. After I tried wearing it for awhile I took it apart and made the chain one. I've gotten better at making them since then but I still like mine a lot. As far as I remember, I didn't really know about handflowers until I started wearing them and getting comments about them. I just decided I wanted silver over my hand.

The End.

well, not really...