Monday, June 23, 2014

Taking Care of Handcrafted Jewelry

You have purchased a special piece of one-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry and you are madly in love with it! How do you keep it looking just as shiny and new as it was on the first day that you received it?


Follow these few simple steps when caring for your handcrafted jewelry from DCIdesigns and it can last you a lifetime.

-Avoid spraying perfume on your jewelry. The chemicals in the perfume react with the metal which will cause it to tarnish. Strong body lotions can have the same effect. To avoid the tarnishing of your piece, put your jewelry on as a final touch after applying body lotion, perfume, or make-up.

- Please do not shower, sleep or swim in your jewelry.

- Avoid using household chemicals while wearing bracelets or rings. 

-After each wearing, wipe your jewelry with a soft cloth before putting it away.  Beadwoven jewelry should not need any more cleaning than this.  What could be easier?  However, if you feel that it does need further cleaning, give it a quick swish in a mild soap and water mixture, rinse, then let it air dry thoroughly. Do not store your jewelry while it is still damp.

-Metal jewelry may be wiped with a Sunshine jewelry cloth to bring back its shine. I send a Sunshine cloth with every purchase, or you can buy one at most bead and jewelry stores. Important note: Do not use this cloth on plated metals as it may remove the finish, and do not use it on the beadwoven parts of your jewelry.

- When storing your jewelry it is best to keep it either in a zip-lock bag or in a drawer/jewelry box. If it has metal parts, store it with an anti-tarnish strip. This will lessen the chance of your piece oxidizing. I also send these with each order. (Replacement strips, if needed, may be purchased at any bead shop or at Amazon.com)

-Special cautions for beaded jewelry:
-Always keep beaded jewelry, or any items with small parts, away from pets and children.  Beads and other small components may cause a choking hazard.

-Jewelry should never be worn when working near machines or equipment with moving parts.


**If you should somehow damage or break your jewelry, I will be glad to repair it for a small fee. I can be contacted through my Etsy shop, DCIdesigns.  Unfortunately, I am unable to repair jewelry made by other artisans.  Thank you for your understanding.    

Cat 
 

Sunday, June 22, 2014

I Know, I Know...

I know, I know...I promised a post as soon as I came home from Seattle. I have been meaning to write one, but my beading mojo has returned, with a passion.  I've been beading every spare minute of every day, and my online time has suffered. Not that I really mind - I'd much rather be beading than wasting, erm, spending time on the computer anyway.

The only thing is, now that I've made all this jewelry I have to photograph it and list it on Etsy. Have I told you how much I dislike those two tasks? I think if I could take a half decent picture I wouldn't mind doing it so much. But I've been studying my camera manual and reading everything I can get my hands on about how to take pictures, and I still have to have to take about 25 photos before I get one that I'm satisfied with. And I need five pictures for each listing! You'd think with all the practice I'm getting that I'd improve a little, right?

Here are some of the projects I've been working on since I got back.


I had a really great time in Seattle!  The plane flight getting there wasn't so much fun; long delays and a cancellation. Delta gave me a $100 flight credit for my inconvenience though, so that made up for it.

Staying for two weeks instead of one makes such a big difference. Even though any amount of time is never enough, I felt like Ava and I got to spend a lot of time together. And John said that if I want to, I can visit again in October. If I want to??? Of course I want to!

We did lots of fun things. We went to the zoo and to Shipwreck Beads, I watched Ava's gymnastics meet and two of her soccer games, we had "high tea" at her school, we scouted for baby crabs and other marine life at low tide in Puget Sound, did some beading and some chainmaille, and just spent lots of quality time together.

Leaving was sad, as always, but this time I know I'll be returning in six months instead of twelve. I can't wait! I'm already counting down the days. Yes, I know I'm ridiculous, but I love my little nieta sooooo much!

Cat