Antique Garden Charms

Well, I guess it helps to network if you have a small jewelry business. I've been making jewelry for about 5 years now and adding new creations as I've gone along. Besides making jewelry I decorate antique bottles, make gypsy windchimes, mixed media pieces, needlework and my newest creation is garden charms.

When I was at antique alley last weekend I started talking to a woman in a booth where I bought an antique chandelier prism. I was telling her I was buying the prism to replace one that had been broken on one of my garden charms. She asked me what a garden charm was. I explained the best I could and she asked to see them. The next day I went back with a bag of my garden charms. She really liked my vintage-looking garden charms and commissioned me to make several of them for her to sell at flea markets. She gave me all the antique chandelier prisms she had and told me to use them to make as many charms as I could. Woo-hoo! I felt like a REAL small business owner! I've FINALLY realized how important networking is and that it's not so hard. I think sometimes us creative people who make things just don't consider ourselves legitimate businesses... at least I don't. I'm trying to change my frame of mind when it comes to my business.... first of all, that I actually do have a business. After this week I will now have my creations in two businesses (maybe more since one of the business owners said he knew more people that might be interested in my stuff.) Now I just need to get out there and show my stuff.

Does anyone else have the problem of marketing your creations? I'm really trying to overcome my fear of ... rejection? It's hard to create something and have someone not interested in it, but really... so what? I need to remember that there are plenty of people who like my stuff and are interested in buying it. I'm going to put myself out there this week and see what happens!

These are the pieces I was given to "create" with.

and...

here are some vintage garden charms I created....

I loved making these! I made nine of them in just a few hours.

Hope everyone has a wonderful, creative week~

New stuff

Here are a few new things I've made lately... 

I'm pretty sure I'm keeping this bracelet. I'm always wanting a colorful bracelet

so I decided it was time I made myself one.  

I haven't decided if I'll keep this black and white one. I wore it to church last Sunday

with another black and white bracelet. Sometimes I just have to wear something a few

times before I can sell it :O)..... anyone else do that?

I'm such a procrastinator!

I made these garden charms months

ago. I had plans to take them to some local nurseries to sell or consign.

It's now Fall and I still haven't done it. I hope people will buy these

now... it would have been much better to sell in the Spring

when people are starting their Spring gardening.

I made some new price tags for them... the first ones I made were just... what's the word? .....

Not good.

Not cute.

Kinda cheesy.

VERY homemade looking.

Ugly.

These are cute. I think.

*Garden Charms*

I've been creating these "things" and wasn't sure what to call them. When I talked about them to my husband I called them "hangy thingys" (not a great name) .... He came up with a few ideas for names that were completely ridiculous (he meant to be ridiculous) so yesterday I was thinking about what to call them and I came up with *garden charms*. I'm still not completely satisfied with that, but it's the best I can do. (If anyone has suggestions please leave a comment!!) I had to call them something because I plan to make some more and take them to a couple of nurseries around town to see if they can sell them for me. I think they'll sell. At least my friend, Julie, said she thought they would... but she's my friend so maybe she's a little biased.

Anyway.... I think they would be cute hanging from a tree, from a porch, in a window, maybe even as a fan pull.... the possibilities are endless! Okay, maybe not endless.

I just love them and enjoy making them. I want to keep about half of them for myself, but I'm not :O)

{Getting a good picture of the charms hanging was not going well. Some things are just difficult to photograph. I decided to take a close up shot too for more detail}

{The backdrop for the "hanging" pictures is my front door... it's shabby chic}

{hey.. wait a minute... let me see if I can find a picture of my front door... I know I have one somewhere in my files...}

..............found it!