Support Handmade Spotlight: One Artsy Mama

Hi!  I'm Amy, aka One Artsy Mama, and I am SO excited to be here at Katie's Nesting Spot today!  I'm such a fan of Katie's blog, so it's a real honor to have the opportunity to post here and share with you a little about myself and my shop!  I've been married to my best friend and dance partner for almost 10 years now, and we have an adorable 3-year-old son, my "Little Crafter" who lights up our lives.

I'm a lover of books, art, music, photography, and all things creative. I'm passionate about Jesus, dance, and my family.  And I'm addicted to Starbucks.  Peppermint mocha, anyone?

My Etsy shop is little reflection of some of the things I love to create most, one of which is jewelry.  I enjoy making all kinds of necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings, but my favorite thing to do is create meaningful, modern family jewelry.  When Little Crafter was born, I searched everywhere for something that would represent him while still reflecting my style.  It was quite a difficult search, and it's especially hard to find anything for an only child.  Here are a few of my favorite family jewelry pieces, all of which are available {and fully customizable} in my shop.



This "mini-nest" pendant is a variation of the birds' nest idea, but it looks great with just one "egg" or up to twelve family birthstones wrapped in.

A birthstone bracelet makes a great gift for anyone; it can contain just a few birthstones in a repeating pattern {like this one that has stones for my parents, my hubby, me, and Little Crafter}, or it can represent more than thirty different family members.  My grandmother was thrilled to have one that represents the entire family; her 4 children, 8 grandchildren, their spouses, and 12 great-grandchilden.

Although this artwork ring isn't necessarily "family jewelry," I do love it because it reminds me of my son every time I wear it and gives me a chance to show him off a little...it's a ring containing a photo of one of his paintings.  I can take a photo of any piece of your child or grandchild's artwork and turn it into a ring like this...way cooler than just hanging it on the fridge, right?!

Besides making jewelry, I also really enjoy digital design, and love playing around to make custom blog elements like buttons, headers, sidebar headings, and social media buttons.  So, I've added these to my shop as well.  It may seem like an odd pairing, but it's what I love to do!

I have fun working one on one with each customer to create something that reflects her blog or business and is visually appealing.

But enough about my shop.  I wanted to share with you a quick tutorial for how you can make a quick and easy pair of colorful earrings that would be a great holiday gift for any lady in your life {or a fun addition to your own wardrobe}!

POP OF COLOR EARRINGS

Materials:

two 2" eye pins

two ear wires

4 10mm beads: the ones I used are cracked glass beads from the Potomac Bead Company, but you can use any color and type

6 small silver beads
needle nose pliers

wire cutters

STEP 1: Place your beads on an eye pin in a pattern you like.

STEP 2: Use needle nose pliers to bend the leftover part of the eye pin at a 90 degree angle.

STEP 3: Use wire cutters to trim it to about the length of your pinky fingernail.

STEP 4: Grab wire with needle nose pliers and bend into a loop {it's easiest to do this if you bend away from yourself}

STEP 5: Gently twist open loop on ear wire with needle nose pliers and attach to your earring.  Twist ear wire tightly closed. 

 *Make sure you always twist to open and close, never pull!*

Ta da!  That's all there is to it!  Once you get the hang of making those wire loops, you can make any number of fun accessories!  And you can use all kinds of different beads and colors for totally different looks.  Since it's the holiday season, red and white are always a great choice.

Thanks for letting me share my shop and my hobby with you today, and of course thanks to Katie for the opportunity to post here on her amazing blog!  I'd love for you to stop by my blog One Artsy Mama anytime and visit!  I'm hosting a special ongoing party called {Our} Home for the Holidays where I'd be so excited for you to share your own homemade gift ideas, traditions, recipes, and anything else about what the holidays are like in your home.  And if you make your own earrings, please send me a photo so I can see how they turned out!  Hope you have a great day!

Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!