Ruby Lane and Ruby Plaza's Creative Hands - November 2010

In This Issue

• Ruby Plaza Promotion: Sell for Only $9/mo. Through 2011!
  
• Video: Happy Thanksgiving from Ruby Lane & Ruby Plaza
  
• Cyber Monday: Get Ready - Get Set - SHOP!
  
• Jewelry Artisans of Ruby Lane
  
• SilverTree Too on Ruby Plaza
  
• Handcrafted Soaps, Scents & Candles on Ruby Plaza
  
• Send Us Your Video & Get Paid
  
• "A bird in your hand..." can be put on your neck, ears or wrist!
  
• Join Ruby Lane and Ruby Plaza on Facebook and Twitter
  
• Share Creative Hands With A Friend
  

RUBY PLAZA PROMOTION: SELL FOR ONLY $9/MO. THROUGH 2011!

This promotion has been extended! Are you looking for a venue to sell your home decor items (both contemporary and vintage) ranging from furniture and accessories to lighting, bedding and window coverings? Or perhaps you, or someone you know sells new and vintage fashion and accessories, and/or jewelry. If so, spread the word - as now you can try out our sister site, Ruby Plaza, just launched in April - for only $9 a month through 2011 with no set-up fee!

Through December 31st 2011, Ruby Plaza is making it easy and affordable for sellers to join Ruby Plaza. Already over 700 shops have joined us with over 150,000 items added to the site.

There are no contracts, no cancellation fees, and the only expense out of your pocket is $9 a month.

Spread the word!

For more information visit www.rubyplaza.com, then under SELL, choose Open A Shop. We hope you'll join us!

VIDEO: HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM RUBY LANE & RUBY PLAZA

Click here to see a special Thanksgiving video from Ruby Lane, or go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1318qIREIQ8

CYBER MONDAY: GET READY - GET SET - SHOP!

Our shop owners are sprucing up their shops, putting out the holiday decorations and sale signs, preparing for Cyber Monday! The excitement is contagious! Folks are jolly and smiling ear-to-ear - counting down the days to the big event.

What is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving and one of the busiest shopping days of the year for our shop owners. If you were too busy to shop over Thanksgiving weekend, or you did not find what you were looking, head to Ruby Lane and Ruby Plaza November 29th, from work or home, for terrific bargains.

JEWELRY ARTISANS OF RUBY LANE

Renee Francois of Artistic Crystal Jewelry

I have always been fascinated with artisan jewelry, not just for the beauty of it, but also for the incredible amount of thought, detail and preparation that goes into making a one-of-a-kind and truly unique piece.

I began making jewelry as a hobby, but after receiving rave reviews about my jewelry from family and friends, I decided to turn my hobby into a business. In June 2007, I opened my website on Ruby Lane. I'm just thrilled and honored to be here among some very talented artists. Ruby Lane has a reputation for high quality and spectacular service and that's a perfect match for my business.

I strive to make unique pieces of jewelry. I am constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to combine and form beads and strands to create that one-of-a-kind piece. I have several collections, including my "Layers", "Intimates" and "Whimsy" lines of jewelry. All of which have been very popular on my site. I have also had the great honor of having some of my jewelry published in Beadtrends Magazine November, December 2009 and March 2010 issues. It's such an incredible feeling to see my work in print!

I am so fortunate to have such a strong return customer base. It's their enthusiasm for my jewelry that keeps my work fresh and creative. I deeply thank those customers and genuinely appreciate them coming back to my shop, and for embracing my new designs!

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Amanda Heston of Queen's Cache

Autumn!!! What a lovely season, all of the
leaves in wonderful hues of orange, gold, yellow, brown, burnt orange and light burgundy. I captured these in this lovely bracelet. This handcrafted bracelet depicts all of the "charm" of the fall season....added to the autumn colors are beautiful faux pearls of burgundy, orange, peach, and yellow ...added to this are crystals, Lucite flowers and leaves and many silver tone rose buds.

The toggle clasp is floral in a heart design.

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Jewel Art Studio

Eclectic, one of a kind wearable art - pieces from the past, transformed into heirlooms of the future.

I have been designing and creating unique and eclectic Wearable Art, Altered Art, and Collage Art jewelry pieces for over 16 years. Much thought, care and love go into the creation of every single piece. Each piece is a totally one of a kind creation, and no one else will ever have it! :)

SILVERTREE TOO ON RUBY PLAZA

I design and make all of the jewelry in my shop using dichroic glass, sterling silver, gold, semi-precious stones, and beads. The gem stones and beads that I use I hand pick at wholesale gem shows. Each item that I make is unique and individually handmade. My inspiration comes from the profusion of beautiful materials that are available for making jewelry.

I started making sterling silver jewelry over 40 years ago in a high school art class. In college, I was a fine arts major specializing in jewelry and ceramics, and decided that I preferred to make jewelry. Later in life I studied gemology through the Gemological Institute of America Home Study Courses. I received certificates in Colored Stones, Gem Identification, and Diamonds. Finally, I taught myself how to kiln-fuse glass 6 years ago to add more dimension to my jewelry work.

For my kiln-fused glass work, I start with sheets of glass which I cut into little pieces and fuse into new, beautiful pieces. I use glass saws and diamond grinding tools to shape the glass. The glass pieces may go into the kiln as many as three times, ending with the final polish firing in the kiln. After the glass work is done I construct my settings to fit the individual glass pieces.

Carol Elmore of Silvertree Carol also operates a shop on Ruby Lane: Silvertree

HANDCRAFTED SOAPS, SCENTS & CANDLES ON RUBY PLAZA

Robyn Larson of Big T Ranch Lotions and Soaps offers a wonderful array of Scented Handmade Bath & Beauty products to suds and smooth the body and sooth the mind.

All of our lotions and soaps are made with fresh goat's milk from our ranch's Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, which we milk twice daily to ensure the freshest milk for our products. Goat's milk is one of nature's finest moisturizers. It is naturally high in vitamins, minerals, proteins and alpha hydroxy acids that nourish and rejuvenate the skin. Goat's milk has a pH close to skin's own natural pH resulting in mild, non-irritating and highly moisturizing lotion and soap even for delicate and sensitive skin. Our lotions and soaps have a shelf life of approximately 1 year.

Big T Ranch is located in Canon City, Colorado along the foothills of the Sange de Cristo mountains, 45 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, and 32 miles west of Pueblo. For several years, we were breeders of Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats but last year brought about some changes and we decided to downsize. We currently have just 2 does from which we get our goat milk for our lotions and soaps. We are so thankful to all of you who have purchased our products and we look forward to continuing to bring you great goat's milk lotion and soap in 2010!

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The Graff Family of Tesuque Meadow

My wife and I are both retired engineers and still do a bit of engineering in making our soaps -- in our kitchen! Tesuque Meadow soaps have earned a faithful following since
being sold at the Santa Fe/Tesuque Flea Market and the Monument Farmers' Market in Monument, Colorado. We've recently moved to Mansfield, Texas to be closer to our three little granddaughters -- Emily, Elizabeth and brand-new Natalie. We know you'll love our soaps too -- you just have to try them.

This candle is scented with Cranberry fragrance oil and comes in a covered, 6-oz. metal tin. Soy candles are clean-burning, leaving no smoke and no soot

.

These soy candles will fill an entire room with a delightful scent. Use several candles to intensify the aroma or mix different scents for a flower garden experience. Combine the candle with its matching soap for a sublime bathing experience.

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James Dixon of Miiesa's Creations I have been formulating and blending my own fragrances for over thirty five years and making fine fragrant items such as candles, bath crystals, etc. for nearly as long. I discovered Soy Wax several years ago and loved it so much that I now use it exclusively for my candles. Soy Wax is environmentally friendly, burning longer and cleaner than petroleum waxes, and fills the room with a soft glow and wonderful mood setting scents.

These are Soy Wax Candles with our own Bayberry Spice fragrance. The wicks have are coreless (no lead or zinc) so that they emit no metal particulates into your air. Soy Wax burns very clean, with a wonderful soft glow. It, also, has an excellent "throw", which is an industry term indicating how well it releases scent when
burning.

The small candle will burn for approximately 50 hours (please, refer to instructions with candle). The large candle will burn for approximately 60 hours. The glassware style may vary. You may easily tell the scent by sniffing the top knot.

SEND US YOUR VIDEO & GET PAID

Many of you already know that Ruby Lane & Ruby Plaza accepts blog articles from shops, and credits your shop $35 per accepted article which we post on Notes from The Lane, Twitter and Facebook. We have developed a sizable number of shops who contribute regularly! We are expanding this program to include video - so we invite shops to send us video links that showcase your shop for publication consideration.

Have you considered making a video about yourself and your shop? Do you want to showcase the items in your shop? Do you have tips and information you'd like to share with others about online sales success to help establish yourself as a valuable resource? Do you have a studio that you would like others to view?Do you have a handcraft technique you would like to share with others or a demonstration video showing how to create your handcrafts? Video is fast becoming the medium to communicate with others, and a it's great way to market your shop. And these days anyone can do it!

Here's how it works:

Once you make your video, upload it to www.youtube.com. Then, send us a link to it at marketing1@rubylane.com. Once accepted, we will publish it on our blog, Facebook and Twitter pages to spread the word about your shop. Once published, we will credit your shop $35. Please note that the focus of your video must be you and your Ruby Lane or Ruby Plaza shop.

Here are links to a couple of videos that other Ruby Lane shops have done. These are just examples - we invite you
to use your imagination in doing your own:

Sorren's-Blue Scarlettshard

Vintage Jewelry Showcase

If you're not sure how to get started making your own videos, be sure to check out this step-by-step Make Your Own Videos blog post by Viga Boland of Vintage Jewelry Showcase to see how she made hers.

Kind Regards,
The Team at Ruby Lane

"A BIRD IN YOUR HAND..." CAN BE PUT ON YOUR NECK, EARS OR WRIST!

Elioness Designs

Tropical paradise and sterling pendant

Tropical fused glass pendant with solid Sterling Silver bail. The bird of paradise is fused onto white with a royal blue background and frame. About ...

Earthlights

Black Enamel Matte Silver Pendant

This lovely little pendant features two black enamel birds on a matte silver rectangle. The pendant measures 7 8 x 1 2 and is suspended from a ...

Not Just MUSI Bows

Brown Tweed Necklace with Bird Pin

Brown Tweed Necklace with Bird Pin Necklace 14" with 3" gold filled chain extension and closure. This feather tailed bird (detachable pin) has its ...

Carol Barrett Jewelry

!8K Gold Vermeil Bird With Amethyst, 18K Gold Vermeil Post Earrings

This flirty 18k gold vermeil bird has an amethyst body. The bird is highly favored in China as an auspicious sign. It reflects the Oriental's love ...

Gem Bliss &tm; SweetWater Jewelry Designs

Copper Cuff hand forged heat patina birdhouse charm bracelet

Rustic Copper Cuff Camp Sundance forged bracelet with cute little birdhouse charm from my Urban Cowgirl series. Handcrafted cold forged heavy 8 gauge...

The Vintage Heart

Loaded Copper Vintage Owl Heart Charm Bracelet

I put everything but the kitchen sink on this loaded Owl Charm Bracelet! I start with just a few charms and then I can't stop ; ) I love Owls. Boho ...

L A Hoote Wearable Art

Sterling and gold filled wire Owl Pin

This Pin is 2 3 4 by 3 of sculpted sterling silver, gold filled wire wrapped garnet and creamy cultured freshwater pearls. Amethyst eyes citrine ...

A Whimsical Place

Blue Peacock Feather Tile Bead Earrings

The North Carolina glass artisan who made these beads called them peacock feather beads you can see in the design why. Theses designer beads are ...

Yifat Aharoni Romantic Contemporary Jewelry Design

Designer feather Choker Stylish jewelry Cool leather necklace

A chic designer jewelry made of leather choker and silver pendant with feather. The hand made leather necklace has velcro closures. It has a sterling ...

Starburst Jewelry

Fresh Water Pearl and Copper Bird Nest Earrings

This is the perfect pair of earrings to take you from the liveliness of spring into the warmth of summer. The focal points are amusing little bird ...

JOIN RUBY LANE AND RUBY PLAZA ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

Ruby Lane and Ruby Plaza are now active on both Twitter and Facebook, and we invite you to join us. Both services are free to join and participate.

Follow Ruby Lane on Twitter: Twitter

Become a Fan of Ruby Lane on Facebook

Follow Ruby Plaza on Twitter: Twitter

Become a Fan of Ruby Plaza on Facebook

SHARE CREATIVE HANDS WITH A FRIEND

Did you enjoy this issue of Creative Hands? Do you know others who would enjoy receiving it? We invite you to forward this issue on to others. Happy reading!