Ruby Lane's Creative Hands - July 2010

In This Issue

• New Ruby Plaza Promotion: Sell for Only $9/mo. Through 2010!
  
• Creative Hands - June Issue 2010
  
• Featured Ruby Plaza Artisan Shop - Designs by Baerreis
  
• Gypsy Jewels by Sharon
  
• By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!
  
• Send Us Your Video & Get Paid
  
• Fight fire with fire!
  
• Join Ruby Lane and Ruby Plaza on Facebook and Twitter
  
• Share Creative Hands With A Friend
  

NEW RUBY PLAZA PROMOTION: SELL FOR ONLY $9/MO. THROUGH 2010!

Are you looking for 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. Maybe you are a crafter with items such as bath and beauty products, candles, handcrafted dolls, needlecraft, woodworking, toys, or supplies to sell. 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 2010 with no set-up fee!

From now until December 31st 2010, Ruby Plaza is making it easy and affordable for sellers to join Ruby Plaza. And the sooner you join the more time you have to sell for only $9 a month while you check us out. Already over 600 shops have joined us with over 130,000 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!

CREATIVE HANDS - JUNE ISSUE 2010

Due to technical issues not all the shop links functioned correctly in the June issue of Creative Hands. We are including those shops and their articles in this months issue of Creative Hands. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Thank you, Ruby Lane

FEATURED RUBY PLAZA ARTISAN SHOP - DESIGNS BY BAERREIS

I live and create in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern Forests of North America. I live in an area that births great rivers which begin as fresh water trickling from springs into rivulets, streams, then creeks, rivers, all compelling towards the ultimate – the sea.

Inspiration comes from many sources – Nature, Emotions, Connections, Disconnects... It also comes from the depths of consciousness – that vast abyss that is our often misunderstood artist's perspective. As a life long artist-designer-craftswoman who has worked for many years beside and with her artist partner and who has managed to somehow raise three wonderful human beings who are also artists, I have had some time to reflect on inspiration.

I love words, their connotations and implications.. When working out a new design, it often begins with the love of something natural.

The sea is a great pool of inspiration. From the tiniest protozoan to the great whales; from the birds that feed on the fishes and nest in the estuaries to the wefts of humidity evaporating into beautiful clouds... storms.. waves.. the elements of rain and wind making patterns on the sand. Patterns that have meaning or not – patterns that are content to just be.

My personal medium is often wood. In a single piece of wood, sliced with the grain 100 times, there will be 100 different images in the grain all cosmic, like waves on the sand, like clouds in the sky, ever changing – always telling the story of an instant in time and the ravages of the physical world.

I see the expression of inspiration manifest in the symbols and colors of my daughter's art glass jewelry, in my sons' photography, music; in their paintings and writings, in my husband's sculptural boxes and in my hair accessories..

We as a family of artisans are somewhat unique. Phil and I have been working collaboratively and independently as artists for almost 40 years and our family is carrying the torch forward. The art of the Baerreis family is cycling into the future Like the sea, a great chaotic foment we continue to create – we do not have to have a reason – it is who we are and it is what we do.

Martha Baerreis of Designs by Baerreis

GYPSY JEWELS BY SHARON

Gypsy Jewels by Sharon creations are almost always inspired by something I've been drawn to in the natural world. When I was a little girl, I had collections of pebbles, wave washed glass bits, snail shells, fish bones and lots of other interesting things found near the water. It drove my Mom crazy when these treasures were forgotten in my pockets, only to be remembered again when they clogged up her washing machine.

Having lived in Minnesota all of my life, I've always had a great inland sea nearby that fills me with creative spirit and ideas every time I go to its vast blue waters. Lake Superior has the largest surface of any fresh water lake in the world. It's a pleasure and an adventure to be consumed by its many moods, unpredictable weather, and magnificent colors that change with the whims of the lake and each season.

From the earth comes the great gift of many gemstones that I use in my jewelry. One of my favorites is the Lake Superior Agate, found in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Once you develop an eye for these lovely stones, they can be picked up during a casual walk along the Lake Superior shore. Finding them has been an obsession for me since I was seven or eight and my Dad pointed one out among the shore rocks. Holding the tiny agate in my hand, I felt the magic of the "big water" named "Gichigami" by the Ojibwe tribes.

My Dad loved Lake Superior and even though he's gone, I continue to share his reverence for all its mysteries. Creating jewelry with stones is a way for me to express this lifelong connection with the beauty and enchantment of nature.

Sharon Harris of Gypsy Jewels by Sharon

BY THE SEA, BY THE SEA, BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA!

The Seashore....there's no place on earth I'd rather be. Being at the beach is an experience like no other. I am in awe of the majesty and beauty I find there. Looking out at the vast ocean, with its changing shades of blue as it glistens with white foamy breakers, I feel the power of nature. Then, looking up at the expanse of blue sky with puffy white clouds and to feel the cooling breeze on a hot summer day, I know I am closer to heaven. It began with my grandfather of Welsh descent. I know that love of the sea is in my genes! He and my grandmother lived for 40 years in a cottage he built near the ocean and I have wonderful memories of my visits there.

I love the soft colors at the beach...the tan sand, so warm under our feet, and the heavenly blues of the sea and sky. I love to see children playing so joyfully with their colorful buckets and floaties. The squawking sea gulls. And the fantastic shells of many shapes and hues, some with a glossy shine. I love them all...broken or not, they are beautiful to me. I said years ago that someday I would string shells together to create jewelry, and viola' here I am -- By the Sea Designs at Ruby Plaza -- creating jewelry, many designed with sea shells, Mother of Pearl, cultured freshwater pearls, to remind us of the beautiful beach. My heart goes out to those people on the Gulf Coast who have sustained such a great loss, and I pray for their recovery.

Heather Llewellyn of By the Sea Designs

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The feeling of creating something beautiful to wear is its own reward, but yet I am always excited when someone else sees the beauty of one of my creations for themselves. Jewelry is not just adornment, but a way to set ourselves apart and show our own glorious uniqueness to all.

I love designing and creating unique beaded jewelry using semi-precious gemstones, vintage beads and components, cultured freshwater pearls, shells, crystals, glass, various metals and anything else that catches my eye, and have been doing so since I was a little girl when my mother helped me gather beading supplies in an old jewelry box. Little seed beads, shells and small rocks were completely fascinating to me and I loved making little creations out of them. I'm inspired by just about everything I see and I'm constantly trying a new technique or idea that pops into my head. Some work, some don't.

This particular necklace was designed with a man in mind out of 16 strands of fiber and braided on a kumihimo loom. Kumihimo is a Japanese art and is thousands of years old. It was used to make cords and braids for personal adornment such as making ties for kimonos, for lacing up Samurai armor, tying up bundles and many more practical and decorative uses.

Cheryl O'Malley of FANCY THAT! artisan jewelry design

SEND US YOUR VIDEO & GET PAID

Many of you already know that Ruby Lane 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? 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 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

FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE!

Jewelry Fanatic

Dripping in Sapphires Dragon Necklace - Christi Friesen Focal

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Holly Cottage Designs

Firelight - Lampwork Bead Earrings in Fire Colors

The lampwork artist who created these unusual lampwork beads is a dentist by day! She expertly manipulated glass with her torch to achieve the ...

COPPERTINA

Dragon Of The Red Moon, Custom Necklace

This fierce dragon has the red moon in claw with a aurora borealis faceted bead dangling from it's wing. The necklace is a real collector piece from ...

Timeless Designs

Dragon Skin Jasper Pendant Peach Aventurine Lime Magnesite Crystals Necklace

A stunning mix of natural stones and crystals create this necklace set. Starting with a high polished slightly domed pendant in dragon skin jasper; ...

Contemporary Concepts

Sizzling Fire-Engine Red Dichroic Glass Pendant

Sizzling-hot fire-engine red glass with sprinkles of rainbow dichroics that look like confetti dropped inside. Sculpted in swirls of 14kt gold filled...

HLO Creations

Jungle Burn : Etched Lamp Work Beads, Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Earrings

HOT!!! Very neat earrings, just love the bright colors. Dont miss out on these... Ingredients: 2 tab etched Lampwork Beads made in the ...

Strega2

FLAME Carnelian Apatite Cascade Earrings 14K GF

These are the latest in my 'Flame' line of earrings. All of the gems are the colors of fire, and all hand-wrapped on 14kt. gold-fill wires. These are ...

Sundancegems

Red Coral Confetti Bracelet in Sterling Silver

Five strands of red Coral coins come together into sturdy and ornate sterling silver cone shaped beads and closed with an oval patterned sterling ...

Whimsy

Ming to Ching Dynasty Shard: Blue Dragon with Sodalite

The serpentine splendor of a Blue Dragon graces this porcelain dynasty shard from ancient China. The pendant was created from pottery shards ...

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!