Got a dog?

I have no dog. I'm not even owned by a cat. That doesn't stop me appreciating a good idea for pet lovers when I see one!

My friend Linda has a shop on Etsy, BarLee Creations, where she sells her clever, needlepoint crate tags and matching pet and owner jewellery. I didn't know boxer dogs were made in so many different styles!

These are all boxer dogs!

Don't have a boxer? Perhaps you have an Irish Setter, then? 

Irish Setter Crate Tag

Or even an Alaskan Malamute! (No, I've never seen one, either!)

Alaskan Malamute Crate Tag

Not satisfied with over a hundred different breeds of crate tag, Linda goes further and creates her own brand of coordinating jewellery for pets and their owners. Look at these!

This set is called Moon Goddess!

I love this design - I wish I'd thought of it!

Gemstone Ladder Set

This is one of my favourites - Yin and Yang!

Yin and Yang Set

If you have a special relationship with your canine chum, visit Linda's shop and choose something you'll both love!

SEO and me.....

I've just launched my new web site and my To Do List is now three pages long. Where on Earth do I start? I stuck a pin in it and hit "write a blog post". Then I had to decide what to write about. Well, how about the one thing that has had to become my obsession over the last few months - Search Engine Optimization. I have read and read and read until I needed new glasses. Shed loads of advice out there about how to be found by the Great God Google. How to sift through it all and find the pearls of wisdom contained therein?

There are many purported experts out there, some more expert than others, but who am I to say? I am not a nerd, or a geek or a computer guru. I made copious notes and then took what they said (when I could understand it) with a pinch of salt!

There are also many on line sellers who, having been through the whole laborious process themselves, offer up their own experiences for us to learn from. I thank them from the bottom of my heart! Sometimes, these ordinary people find ways of explaining the complexities of SEO that even a technically challenged person like myself can grasp.

Using all these resources and a lot of my own experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that SEO is both  a complete mystery and just common sense! I know that statement is contradictory but so is the internet.

In this modern age (It's the 21st Century, for God's sake! How did I get here?) everything seems to change at an alarming rate. It may be just a function of my advancing years but, I swear I can't keep up! Google, and other search engines, rearrange their "algorithms" at least once a month to make it more difficult for the likes of us to be spotted amongst the crowd. Well, actually, no. It's not the likes of us they want to keep out. They have said so. They want relevant, interesting and real content. This is where the common sense bit comes in. We can give them that if we could just stop trying to second guess them all the time!

I have decided to just use my own words to describe my jewellery. I will not use the Google Keyword Tool because it depresses and confuses me in equal measure. I will use real, descriptive phrases that real people may use when they search for stuff on the net. This, however, brings me to the next problem. We don't all use the same words for the same objects. Fair enough, "necklace", "bracelet", "pendant", "earrings" are all standard terms but, what sort of bracelet is it? What style of necklace? We all seem to have our own ideas.

I recently spotted a pretty bracelet on Etsy and added it to my favourites. It's not really the jewellery but the photography thereof that attracts me. (I'm still trying to get that right but we won't go there today - that's another blog post entirely!)  The designer called it a "cha cha bracelet" - a term I had not come across before. It was remarkably similar in style to some bracelets of my own making but I called them "charm bracelets".

I immediately renamed this one to see what would happen:

Cha Cha Bracelet, Pink Pearls, Sterling Silver, Peridot

But this one, I still consider to be a charm bracelet:

Sea Theme Charm Bracelet, Sterling Silver, Blue Onyx, Green Agate, Pearls, Crystals

So, the upshot is, finding out what other people call things is the only research I shall be doing in future!

I'm all behind, like a cow's tale.....

My Mum used to say that and it's very apt. I'm so, so busy that I'm having dreadful trouble keeping up with this blogging lark. So much for posting every day! That went the way of all my resolutions.

I think I told you that I have some copper pieces displayed at C.A.T. Services in La Alfoquia. I remembered to take pictures last time I popped in.

Then I received an email from Karen to say they had sold three items! Hooray! The copper coils bracelet and the double coil pendant went, along with a pair of my pointy heart earrings. I popped down there this morning to replace them with these:

I seem to be on an earring binge lately. I must make some bracelets and necklaces. When I get the time......

More later!

Presenting the "Odd Earring" Custom Charm Bracelet!

This custom service is now launched! Go see the listing in my Bluetinatoo studio on Artfire.

The description reads like "War & Peace" but there is a lot to cover! The example shown above and in the listing has eight "charms" on it and that comes out at $40.  The price could be more or less, depending on the number of earrings you have and the sort of chain that is suitable.

I hope this holds some interest for you all, as I think it's a neat idea. It certainly put some of my odd earrings to good use!

The "odd earring" charm bracelet is coming soon....

Well, I've made the example bracelet using my own "odd earrings".  I've used sterling silver chain and hand made the clasp myself. I've also worked out a nice, neat way to link the earring "charms" to the chain. I'm going to launch this on an unsuspecting world next week, when we get back from our trip to Pisa.  It will be listed as a custom item in my Bluetinatoo studio on Artfire. Watch this space.....

Some photos to whet your appetite!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen....

.....lend me your earrings!  I will make of them a special, unique, one of a kind charm bracelet, just for you!

Seriously, do you think this would go down well? I was sorting through my little box of silver oddments today, to see what I could place in my brand, spanking new tumbler and make all shiny and luscious again.  I came across so many odd silver earrings that I had an idea. You know how it is - a pair of earrings is your favourite until one of them falls out, unnoticed, and lands in the dirt.  Or in the taxi. Or on the floor of the bus. A friend of mine managed to run a single earring over with her 4 x 4 the other day!  It's not salvageable, I'm afraid.

I made a bracelet such as this just last year for a friend's 40th birthday.  This is it - terrible photograph, but it gives the idea.

After going through my own box of orphaned earrings, I realized that most of us girls must have just such a collection.  I'm thinking I might offer this service in my Bluetinatoo studio on Artfire.  I just have to work out the logistics.

Do you think people would be willing to send me their spare earrings and get them back as a bracelet? It wouldn't be dreadfully expensive. I'd have to charge for the chain, the clasp and my time, hand wrapping the charms provided.

Do let me know what you think!