Sunday, February 27, 2011

Winter Enchantment

Living in Rochester, NY provides ample snowfall in the winter season. This year we're way above average with over 100 inches of snow so far. I'm not a huge fan of the cold, windy, blizzardy days. Today is an exception though. The sun is out, the sky is bright blue, and the snow covered trees look wonderful. Again, Artbeads has offered a chance to embody the feeling of winter through jewelry. I chose to use color to reflect the theme.

Here are some designs that incorporate glass beads that grade from aqua to clear paired with Swarovski Crystal.


I had to give the Swarovski Helios pendant a try. The one I used is in indocolite. It has a really neat geometry and has a wonderful tactile quality.


I also selected a strand of cobalt colored glass roundelles and used them in a few different ways. The copper doesn't embody winter as well as silver, but I couldn't resist the little snowflake charms.

And of course there is more Swarovski! I hadn't seen the snowflake pendant yet so I gave it a shot too! I wish the hole went from side to side but I made it work! I also used some briolettes because they have a wonderful shape and are a budget friendly alternative for using AAA gemstones.


And finally, here are a few miscellaneous items. The blue Picasso beads were a bit darker than I thought they would be, but they still look beautiful.



If you're ready to make jewelry, I have a coupon code for you! Use code ZZ-DESIGNER-0211 when you checkout at Artbeads.com to receive 15% off your entire purchase, with no minimum, through the end of February.

Please note that I have received the products free of charge from Artbeads.com and that I am honestly reviewing the products and have not been paid to do so.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Budgeting Your Business Spending for 2011

Even though we're more than a month into the new year, it's still not too late to develop a supply spending budget! I spent my first year as a registered business spending here and there without much of a plan. I suppose that's fine if you're just starting out while you get a feel for things, but if you've been growing, watching your spending will really help to increase your profit. I have developed a worksheet in Excel that will track your spending in 2010 by category so that you can easily determine your budget for 2011. Take a look! You can download it from Scribd. Be sure to start on the 2010 spending tab. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Budget Worksheet