I'm moving!

Hello dear readers!

If anybody is still around (and I wouldn't blame you if your weren't - I haven't posted anything for ages), I have finally finished tweaking my new WordPress blog!

You can find it HERE!

This is a little excerpt from my very first post on the new blog which might give you an idea what to expect:

"I’m no style guru. I have very eclectic tastes that cannot be defined by current trends. I just know what I like when I see it. I am sure there are many of you who feel the same way about fashion, accessories, jewellery and even decorating your homes.

So, my mission is to search the likes of Etsy, Pinterest, Polyvore, and many other online places of that ilk, to bring you images of all the interesting, stylish and quirky things that catch my eye. As an awful lot of things fall into this category, I am sure I won’t get “blogger’s block” for a long time to come!"

BluetinaJewellery.com took a long time to set up. Mainly because I have discovered I am not as computer literate as I thought I was. Now I'm getting bogged down in the innards of MailChimp! Evidently, one must have an email list in this day and age!

Please feel free to try out the sign up bit. Not only will you receive a 10% Discount Code for my Etsy Shop, but you will have the satisfaction of pushing me up the learning curve a bit quicker. Thank you!

I'm still alive!

I had to fight my way through the cobwebs to get in here. I haven't posted on this blog for three whole months! Naughty girl.

I have been working on a brand new and very posh blog on WordPress. As per usual, these things take so much more time than you think they will. It's not finished yet. Perhaps I'm being too much the perfectionist. I'll let you know when it's viewable.

I spent the whole of April in the UK and France. Long, long journey and it took me most of May to recover.

I have made some more things since I was here last.

African Turquoise Bracelet

Teal Blue Stick Pearl Earrings

Wildflowers Earrings

Magenta Pearl Bracelet

Still can't get those pics to line up!






You can probably imagine the trouble I'm having with WordPress!







I have made a few changes to my Bluetina website. I'm still beavering away on Etsy, even though they have made a few changes to their website!

Now I'm getting ready to go back to the UK yet again! I will try to post something while I'm there.

I understand that Google Reader is heading for oblivion tomorrow. I'll find out when my RSS feed goes blank, won't I? Does that mean this blog will now be invisible?

Crochet socks for dogs.....

I've just been checking Google Analytics for my Etsy shop. How on earth did someone find their way to my shop or anything in it using a search term like "crochet socks for dogs"?

"Bali jewellery charm bracelet" I can understand; similarly "blue sapphire bangle" but "cast iron owl hook"? I am stumped.

What on earth is an "ex boyfriend necklace"? And what, exactly, are jaterwunky beads?

It would appear that "cast iron owl hook" lead straight to this necklace:

Oxidized copper and Mother of Pearl Necklace

It would also appear that Google Analytics has it's own wormhole into an entire other universe. What I wouldn't give to see that!

Posting whole Etsy Treasuries on Facebook

Some of my team mates and friends have been asking for the secret referred to in my last post, so I am obliging!

This is the method that my team mate, Maya, passed on to me the other day. It uses Photoshop. If you don't have that particular program, I'm sure the method will translate pretty easily to other applications used for editing photographs.

First, get the Treasury in question on your screen and reduce it in size until you an see all of it. On my computer, with the Chrome browser, that is about 75%.

Then you need to print the screen. On my keyboard, bottom left, is a key with "Fn" in a box. Hold that down and press the one up the top, right hand side, that says "prt sc" in a little box. It doesn't say it's done anything but it has saved it to your clipboard.

Minimize your browser and open Photoshop, choosing the editing bit. Click on File, New and Image from Clipboard. The treasury will appear in the editing window just as it looked on screen.

Up top on the tool bar, choose "Layer" and "Flatten Image". Mine is an old version of Photoshop so yours might say "Merge Down" or similar.

Next step - crop the treasury so you can still see the title but you cut out all the Etsy gubbins. Then go to Image, Resize Canvas and change the width to about 1 cm more than the height.

Save it where you can find it again with the appropriate name. You can then upload it to Facebook just like any photograph. Don't forget to add the link to the treasury as the image won't be clickable.

Here is one I prepared earlier. (I've always wanted to say that!)

This is a lovely Treasury made by my team mate Kellie. I am in it, of course! Nothing like a bit of shameless self promotion! It is called An Eclectic Collection of Beautiful Items. Go see it!

If I've missed anything or you need any help, just leave a comment and I'll come back to you.

Treasury tricks....

I have recently learned how to make a whole Etsy Treasury appear, as if by magic, on my Facebook page. I have been playing with it non-stop! My team mate from the Shiny Happy People, the lovely and generous Maya, showed me how to do it, for which I thank her heartily. And now, not content with bombarding my Facebook fans with Treasuries, I am doing the same on my blog.

If you are wondering why there aren't any closing comments at the bottom of this page, as there usually are, it's because I can't make the cursor go down there now. I am technologically challenged today. Hey ho!

This is one of mine, Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

This is by Heyme, our dear Captain

Peggy's intriguing "It came in through the bathroom window

Front Page!! I've arrived...

This is an unscheduled blog post. I finally made it to the Front Page of Etsy! USA version, no less. I am dead chuffed! That's my gold chain necklace in there!

Last minute listings...

Trying to fill my Etsy shop up for Christmas. I thought a few more pairs of earrings wouldn't go amiss!

Blue Glass Flower Drops

Silver and Black Onyx Tassel Earrings

Silver double spirals with black glass flowers

There is another pair but Blogger keeps putting my pics where I don't want them. I give up.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday Weekend Deal

Just popping in to give you the heads up. I have set up free shipping on all items in my Etsy Shop until the end of Monday, 26th November. Well, Tuesday morning on my end of things!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a very American institution, stemming as they do from the US Thanksgiving Celebrations. However, when in Rome....or when on Etsy, in this case....do as the Etsians do!

Cascade Earrings Pink Pearl

Evidently, an awful lot of on line shopping is done on Cyber Monday, hence the name. Perhaps some of it will get done in Bluetina's shop! Here are some of the over eighty items you can buy and have shipped anywhere in the world for free:

Mixed Metal Bracelet Silver & Copper

Kyanite Necklace with Sterling Silver Spikes

There's lots more where they came from and, if you order now, they should be with you in plenty of time for Christmas!

Artful Lise....

It's that time again. This week, we have the talented Lise Winne to spotlight! Her Etsy shop is filled with beautiful images of unicorns, angels, bunny rabbits and birds.

Acorn with Oak Leaves

This is an original painting by Lise. It is small at 4" x 6" but perfectly formed! I just love Lise's style.

Bunny Rabbit with Moon & Gate

Lise also sells limited edition prints of her artwork, such as this ethereal painting of a rabbit sitting by an ornate garden gate. This is one of my personal favourites!

Christmas Horse Greeting Card

Greeting cards and tags are another way one can buy Lise's work. Who wouldn't love to display this beautiful winged horse on their mantelpiece? 

Heart Trinket or Jewelry Box

Hand painted little wooden trinket boxes are yet another expression of Lise's talents. The boxes are completely hand painted and each is one of a kind. 

If I thought it wasn't going totally over the top, I'd tell you that she sings, too! Oh, I just did! Lise is in to Renaissance Music and you can purchase her CD's through her Etsy shop. 

A multi-talented and very interesting person is our Lise!

A Makeup Artist.......

It's Nora's turn this week! In her lovely, yummy Etsy shop, Leonora's Cosmetics, she has the most gorgeous array of mineral eye shadows and foundations I've ever seen.

They are all handmade and exceedingly high quality. The colours are something else!

Mia Mineral Eye Makeup

Ice Blue Mineral Eye Makeup

Dahlia Metallic Eye Shadow

Rosie Mineral Eye Shadow

Nora sells samples, of course, so you can find out which colours really suit you. Getting one's blusher right can be tricky!

Mineral Cheek Blush Samples

She also makes many shades of foundation.  Looks like an ice cream parlour in here, doesn't it?

Mineral Foundation

I suggest you pop over there and have a look around. A new shade of eye shadow would make an excellent gift for a girlfriend this Christmas!

A complication of rings....

Today's blog post features my Etsy team mate, Lehane.

Lehane does very complicated things with jump rings. Anybody who can do that chainmaille stuff has my utmost respect and admiration. I tried it once. Nearly went blind and threw my pliers down in disgust.

Aquamarine Amethyst Chainmaille Bracelet

Let alone doing it in a straight line, she can do it in circles, too!

Holiday Chainmaille Ornament

Lehane is also into using those amazing dichroic glass pendants in her jewellery:

Pink and Black Necklace

An eye for colour is also evident in Lehane's designs:

Amethyst Rivoli Crystal Pendant

Go have a look at her shop, it's packed full of more lovely pieces like these!

Beautiful Bead Crochet....

And here is another skill I haven't the patience to perfect! Nona, of Lanmom Originals, crochets with beads. That's a bit of an understatement really. Just look:

Southwestern Necklace - Sedona Dreams

Nona explains how it is done in some of her listing descriptions: 

"There are four steps to creating a piece of bead crochet rope jewelry. The first step is design, which includes determining the look of the finished product and breaking that pattern down to a straight sequence of beads. The second step is stringing, where each individual bead is strung on thread in the correct sequence. One mistake here will destroy the pattern, so I take great care! The third step is to crochet each of these tiny beads into a beautiful, strong and light bead rope. The fourth and final step is finishing with joins, findings and/or accent beads to complete a lovely and unique piece of jewelry."

Nope, can't do it!

Breast Cancer Awareness Necklace

That is a most beautiful piece of jewellery!

ReCycladelic Pop Top Bracelet

Nona says these are much simpler but they still look mighty complicated to me!

And, to top it all, Nona takes beautiful photographs and makes her own soap!

Lemon Lavender Castile Soap

I'm beginning to feel inadequate, so, for the sake of my ego, I'm stopping there! LOL

Dear Santa....

This post is supposed to be publicity for my Etsy team mate, Cat of JewelryCatSupplies but it's more like a personal wishlist for Christmas!

I'm just going to post some pictures and you can drool over them with me, if you want!

Turquoise 4mm cube beads

That's an amazing photo, isn't it?

Terracotta Red Leather Lace Braided Bolo Cord

I could do lovely things with that!

Teardrop Focal Bead Zebra Jasper

Isn't that teardrop gorgeous?

Bamboo Coral Bead True Red

Just spotted these! Wow, what a colour!

There is loads more heavenly stuff but I'm going to have to stop now because I'm salivating all over my keyboard.

Soap, beautiful soap....

My Etsy team mate, Kellie is a clever lady! In her shop you will find all manner of handmade, natural soaps, balms, scrubs, lotions and other things that smell good!

Pumpkin Soap

Some of them even look good enough to eat:

Oatmeal Soap with Chocolate Chips!

Some have rather exotic ingredients:

Raspberry Patchouli Soap

And some are for the man in your life:

Manly Man Soap! 

There's loads more where these came from. They would make excellent Christmas presents, too!

You smell nice!!!

This is a comment I look forward to receiving when I have purchased some perfume from my friend, Amanda. She doesn't know it yet but I'm going to! Amanda has a shop on Etsy called EsscentualAlchemy.

My one and only bottle of posh perfume is fast running out and I sincerely doubt that my (otherwise wonderful!) husband will think to buy me another for Christmas. In situations like this, one wishes for a way to smell stuff over the internet. It's a good job Amanda sells samples!

Natural Perfume 6 Luxurious Samples

Amanda also uses some very original and evocative images for her perfume listings. You can almost taste this one!

Orange Cream Natural Perfume

And this one for "Lumberjack Man" definitely says "manly" to me!

Lumberjack Man Natural Eau de Cologne

Amanda also uses images from Tarot cards to great effect:

The Moon Gaian Tarot Natural Perfume

Do go and visit her shop. She does a great job of tempting one to try her wares! While you're there, have a look at her "About" page. Very interesting!

Daringly Different!

If the title mystifies you, it is the phrase that Pam from epicetera uses to describe her jewellery!

Pam has a definite style which I admire immensely. Look at this bold necklace!

Turquoise Calsilica Jasper Necklace

Pam can do chunky with panache but also uses delicate pearls to great effect:

Natural Keshi Pearl Necklace

As well as a penchant for the dramatic, Pam also demonstrates a sense of whimsy!

Colorful Stretch Skull Bracelet

Most of all, colour is manipulated with style in Pam's designs. I love these long random necklaces of hers!

48 inch random necklace, mixed pearls

Have a peek at Pam's "About" page to find out more about how she got started!

Cute and Crochet!

Another of my Etsy Team friends, Babs, is in to crocheting in a big way. Lovely, colourful stuff! All available in her shop, Crowe Shea Fashions. (Clever play on words, there!)

Fiesta Crochet Scarf

Bright and cheerful, inspired by Mexican serapes! If you think you see a bear under that scarf, you are spot on!

Kids Hat in Aqua and Yellow

Her name is Fey. Here she is again modelling a super little hat for children!

Emerald Green Cloche Hat

Sometimes the hats are a little too big for her, but she carries on regardless!

Amigurumi Cat

She also helps to show off the Amigurumi Cats that Babs makes. I can't say that word. Good job this isn't an audio blog!

Crochet Plastic Bag Holder

Babs also makes these very useful items! Be green! Reuse those plastic bags!