New Photography Equipment

One of the most frustrating/cool things about Cindi and I doing this all ourselves is that we end up in over our heads with some of the projects we undertake!  Like the photography--taking good up-close photos of jewelry is very difficult without the proper equipment.  My mom, Laura Vryhof, who has done all of the pictures we've uploaded into the photo gallery at www.sankofaquest.com/photos.html has what we need, but we can't count on her to be at our beck and call every time we make a new piece and want to post it.  Soooo, we've picked up a mini photo studio.  We got this 16"x16" one from Harbor Freight of all places for $25!  Here's what it looks like:

EZcube light boxes are the same type of thing, but they cost $55 for the 12"x12" one, and that's just the box with no light or tripod.  We're in the process of setting up and getting ready to take some pictures, so be on the look out for pictures of some of the new stuff we made while we were at the Rotterdam show!

Finally feeling better!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I had the flu!  I didn't touch the website or my jewelry supplies for a couple of weeks.  Our first show is tomorrow, kind of a warm-up at East Syracuse Minoa High School.  We're basically just hoping to get some practice setting up our displays and to make sure we haven't forgotten something major.  As for my lessons with Cindi, they've been put on hold because of the flu and whatnot.  But I'm still creating at home!  I've been trying to incorporate some more metal pieces into my work, like special links, chain, and decorative bead caps.  It's become a de-stressor for me, which is nice!

Different styles

So we've been out all week shopping for supplies, which is annoying because we could be getting much better prices buying in bulk online!  However, we're impatient and need supplies so that we'll be prepared for our first show!  Through these shopping trips and our recent sessions, we're finding out that we have vastly different styles.  Cindi's much more into gunmetal findings and blood red and black beads, while I'm girly and use a lot of pink, purple, and green with silver findings.  Neither of our styles is conducive to producing Christmas-themed pieces, and we think we should have some for the upcoming Christmas shows.  I'll post pictures of some of what we've come up with, but I'm not promising it'll be pretty!

Check out the pics on our website!

The pictures are up at sankofaquest.com!  Check them out, they look great thanks to my mom.  She is the photographer and she did an excellent job, especially since we took them on my kitchen table with a random lamp!  This is really moving along, and we're getting excited...

It's been too long!

Hi all, I'm sorry about the delay, I was out of town and then working on the website, which is up and running! Go to www.sankofaquest.com! We also have some events coming up, which we've been preparing for so we haven't had a real lesson for about a week. The rest of the week I'm going to try to learn how to do some wire wrapping, so stay tuned for that. I see some frustration in my future because wire wrapping is not easy! Here are some pictures of some of what I've made so far with Cindi's help:

                                                                  

Craft shows and power tools

Well if you frequent random craft fairs and festivals across the great state of New York, you may run into Cindi and I at some point this Christmas season!  We'll be starting a calendar on this blog as well as www.sankofaquest.com, which will be up and running next week!  So far we're planning on attending a Fire Department craft fair, an airport flea market, and a huge exhibit at a mall in White Plains that promises to be interesting.  White Plains means a hotel and a lot of empty evenings, so if you're in the area in the middle of November and know of a place that makes good drinks, let us know!

Busy little bees

So we've had two sessions since my last post, but I've been so busy I haven't had time to relay our progress.  Wednesday we ended up drinking about three pots of coffee and listening to my three year old's cartoons while we were working.  The caffeine and Imagination Movers combo made for an interesting afternoon!  We looked at web page templates and I made a strung necklace using crimps.  They look like beads but are used to secure beads that are strung rather than held together with findings and eye hooks.  You have to use this little crimper tool to close them up and secure them.  It takes some getting used to, and I feel like an electrician!  But, my necklace is totally random with no pattern whatsoever!  So I'm making some creative progress.  I'll post some pictures ASAP.

Addicted already!

So rather than go home and forget about making sparkly things, I took a trip to one of the craft stores nearby and bought two organizers full of beads and findings!  I've made several pairs of earrings, a couple bracelets, and started on a really pretty pink necklace.  We're trying to stick with glass beads, and then move on to semi-precious, but I ended up buying some semi-precious beads to use as well.  I just couldn't resist! 

I must say I'm excited that after only one session, I've been able to start working on my own.  I'm sure the quality of the pieces I've made today will not be totally perfect, but at least I'm getting in some practice!  Those eye hooks are getting easier and easier!

Let's get this party started...

I went to Cindi's today and we worked on some beading basics.  The first thing she showed me was how to use findings and string together different beads or sets of beads to create a necklace.  Findings are just the metal components used to make jewelry, like the part of the earring that goes through your ear, a clasp, or the metal pieces the beads go on.  There are a few things I had to buy first, like a bead palette, two pairs of pliers (flat-nosed and round-nosed) and a pair of wire cutters.  If you want to look at pictures of or purchase tools like this, here's a good site: Jewelry Making Tools

Once we got all set up, Cindi showed me how to lay out my beads on the palette so that I'd know how long a necklace I wanted, and in what order I wanted my beads.  Then we started stringing, using eye pins for this necklace.  Eye pins already have one loop, so I just added each bead, then prepared to create a loop at the other end.  You do this for two reasons: to keep the beads on the strand and to allow for a jump ring to be added.  Jump rings are metal circles that can be used to link sections of bead or as one side of a clasp.  Making the second ring was the trickiest part for me; you have to use your round-nosed pliers to create a loop, which is simple, but you want it to look kind of like a closed question mark which requires bending the metal the other way.  Not easy when you've got beads already on the finding!  It'll take some getting used to, so I'm going to go home and practice making sections of beads for next time.

For this project I had picked out a pendant that I liked and used an eclectic assortment of beads for the chain.  Cindi's beaded chains are often asymmetrical, but I am far too orderly for that!  Both sides are the same pattern.  Being more free is definitely something I need to work on!  Here is a picture of the necklace I made with Cindi's help.  My first piece! 

Introduction

My name is Erin and I'm part of Sankofa Quest Designs, created by my friend Cindi.  She's an amazing artist and has been designing and making her own jewelry for years.  Now, she's going to attempt to teach me what she knows and I will share our experiences with you!  I have never thought of myself as a very creative person, so she has her work cut out for her!  Keep logging on to track my progress!