Surprises in the mail

If you're a beader, you know that it can be seriously addicting. I have had my highs and lows in my attempts to sell online. The etsy market is completely saturated with beaders, and now that etsy has become more popular over the last couple of years, it is even more difficult to get the views, hearts and sales that I want. I've tried branching out to other places such as hyenacart.com, shophandmade.com and dawanda.com, but no other site has brought in the sales, few as they may be, that etsy has. So, as you may imagine, I've considered whether or not I want to continue such a hobby. After all I have to do something with these creations, and there are only so many friends and family members to give them away to. The bottom line, is that I never could part myself from the hobby that I love so dearly. Part of the appeal is the many varieties of beads that are available. Shopping for beads, and better yet, opening the beads when they arrive in the mail, is such a pleasure..."kid in a candy store" is what comes to mind, an oldie but a goodie, and the perfect cliche to capture the feeling that bead shopping elicits in me. So my short term solution is to give my creations away to various charities that sell or auction off handmade items in their fundraising projects. I have sent a couple of full flat rate boxes to Every Dog's Delight in Alaska, and I'm working on putting together a third one. If you would like to contribute your handmade goods, you can contact everydogsdelight.etsy.com. They sell items in their thrift store/boutique in Anchorage. You may also want to get involved with the etsyforcharity or etsyforanimals street teams. Both teams raise money for charities and animal charities. Etsyforcharity has an etsy store at etsyforcharity.etsy.com.
So getting to the point, I continue to buy beads when I have the pay pal money to do so. I love gemstones the most, but I recently found some lampwork beads on ebay that I found intriguing. I liked the speckled appearance. They looked like a lot of fun. Once I got them home, I wondered if maybe they looked a little too fun. Now "serious" is not a word I would use to describe my jewelry. It is big, bold and colorful, however these beads are so flashy that they seem to be more suitable for children's jewelry, which is something I don't generally do. However, if I pair them appropriately with the right beads, I may be able to make them work. I have already used the green lampwork beads in a toggle bracelet that uses chocolate jasper, and I am very satisfied with the final outcome.