Koi barrettes, part two

[merimask]

So.  I finished a whole bunch of koi barrettes. 

I made a few changes from my first design.  The new fish are about a third smaller and the dangles are much shorter (the longest one is about six inches).  The barrette backs are 50 mm instead of 70mm, which makes a huge difference.  The fish are shorter & narrower & actually look great as side clips.


I also changed how I did the dangles.  I beaded the whole wire which was very time consuming, but I'm happier with the way it looks.  I chose various glass beads in shades of blue & aqua, which is all sparkly & watery-looking.  I added a few accent pearls on some...on others I used Czech glass beads with a mirror finish (they looked like bubbles to me).

Anyway, I had fun doing them.  Many thanks to 

smillaraaq, who provided a link for a really simple giude to all the koi varieties...it made things a LOT easier for me because it was quick & easy to print out.  I still have a ton of varieties I want to make.

 

Next project; some new Medusa masks.  I want to make a couple in "real" snake colors.  Usually I do them in fantasy metallic colors over black, but I'm intrigued by the idea of a Medusa that's colored like a diamondback rattlesnake in brown & sand tones (& maybe turquoise eyes!  My favorite color combination!).  Anyway I cut out two of them last night.  It's going to be my big project for the next few days.

EDIT:  I just made myself an ETSY account!  It was SO easy...easier by far than clunky old e-bay to be sure.  You can see my shop here.   I only put a few pieces up, just to try it out.  Thinking of putting the koi barrettes in there as well.  Hmm!

Comments

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

PPS: It takes a while for shops to catch, btw...people don't notice that they exist right away. Plus the best sellers on Etsy (people who've sold over 2000 items) tend to be in the low price bracket...usually people who sell washi-type or print pendants like Littleputbooks or MadisonCraftStudio. It's the 12 dollars and under group :)

You might want to mention in your shop blurb that you have your own website, too! :)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I've taken your advice & I put a bunch of smaller items up in my Etsy shop. Some little pins and the koi barrettes...stuff like that which sells for 15 to 20 dollars.

Setting up the shop was SO easy. I still can't get over how simple & convenient that site is to use. You should totally get started...it's a piece of cake & your jewelry will look GREAT in there. :-)