Color Palette Challenge - Caribbean!

by Sherri Stokey

Are you ready for another color palette challenge?  We had so much fun with the Starfish Color Palette Challenge, I thought we should do it again.  This time I chose some pretty blues (cyan, aqua, Caribbean blue, teal), lime green (chartreuse) and a dash of white.  It has a bit of a Caribbean feel, don't you think?  I found some pretty beads in my stash, including several handmade lampwork pieces, a ceramic pendant and a polymer clay sand dollar.  I even found some macrame pieces I've done that fit the theme:

The rules are simple:  make something inspired by the photo.  It can be anything - a painting, jewelry (of course), a scarf, a hand painted pair of shoes (wouldn't that be cool!?) - as long as it's made by you.  Share a photo of your creation with me by September 14, 2016 and I'll put together a blog post revealing them here on September 16th.  If you'd like to do a blog post, send me the link along with your photo and I'll include it.  Please send photos to me through my business Facebook page  or via email.

Who will join me this round?

Starfish Color Palette Challenge

by Sherri Stokey

I have a challenge for you!  Here's the scoop:  I pulled out some beads and cord in some of my favorite colors a while back when I was feeling a little low (that's them in the photo above).  I chose some neutral tan and ecru along with teal and turquoise, then added a bit of bronze for depth.  The color palette is soothing and beachy and perfect for summer (or any time you want to pretend it's summer).

Using different combinations of the colors and different patterns, I'm up to around sixteen pieces of micro macrame jewelry inspired by this palette (you can see more of them on my blog at www.KnotJustMacrame.com if you're interested).

Some pieces are fussier and some just scream "relaxing on the beach".

Lately I've been messing more with the neutral part of the palette:

So what's the challenge?  I want to see what you make inspired by this photo:

Here are the details:  make something inspired by the photo.  It can be jewelry, sculpture, a painting - anything.  Heck, decorate a cake!  Make a quilt!  Anything handmade.  Share a photo of your creation with me by June 15, 2016.  I will put together a post with photos from everyone so you can see what fun things everyone comes up with.  If you'd like, do a blog post and send the link with your photo and I'll include that, too.  Please send photos to me through my business Facebook page (so I don't miss something in that mysterious "other" folder) or via email.

Who's in? 

A Social (Media) Experiment

by Sherri Stokey

Of all the struggles we face as independent artisans and small business owners (if you can even call us that - teeny tiny business owners?), one of the most daunting is figuring out how to be seen.  You can make the most amazing stuff ever, but unless you figure out a way to connect with the people who want to buy it, you're probably not going to stay in business long.

Some folks have good luck with doing craft shows and in-person events, but many rely on online sales, especially those of us who live in rural areas.  I have to tell you, it's really, really hard on a person's ego to be outsold by corncobs in Nebraska Cornhusker hats (and that's a true story) in the next booth over.  That and the made-in-China jewelry being sold at a fraction of the price a couple more booths down.

I made the decision years ago to go with online sales and it's really an amazing thing that we have the capability of doing that now.  Not to date myself or anything, but I grew up without the internet and without having all these choices available at our fingertips.  We spent a lot of time going from store to store or pouring over the pages of catalogs looking for just the right thing.  Now I can find almost anything I want, from anywhere in the world, and have it sent right to my front door and I can do it in my jammies.  It works the other way around, too: I can put the micro macrame jewelry I make by hand online and people all around the world can purchase it.  IF... (oh, the dreaded "if") they can find me.

When I really started trying to make my hobby work as a business (or at least a self-sustaining hobby), Facebook was just getting big and was the place to be as far as social media.  I set up a page for my business and started gathering a small following.  Life was good.  People who "liked" my page saw the pieces I posted.  Then somewhere along the line, Facebook started deciding which posts people would see and which ones they would not.  They started charging to have your posts seen and I started to feel like the invisible man.  Let me give you some statistics from my own experience (disclaimer:  I cannot tell you if these are typical numbers or not, they are simply from my personal experience).

My page Knot Just Macrame has 42K followers.  That's over 42,000 nice people who have taken the time to say they like what I make and they want to see more of it.  Those aren't bought and paid for "likes", either (I think we've established I'm too cheap for that).  I posted a photo a couple of days ago and it was shown to 414 people.  Less than 1% of the followers of my page.  Seriously, Facebook?

And just when I thought I'd reached the bottom of the "reach" barrel (that's what Facebook calls how many people your post reaches), Facebook decided to show me just how low I could really go:

Yes, that's actually a negative number!  It's not like the photo I posted was offensive or anything:

How do you even show it to a negative number of people, anyway?  UN-show it to them?  On this particular day I was almost desperate enough to give in to the Facebook strong-arming and pay to "boost" my post.  Right up until I actually clicked on the button and looked at the figures.  For a mere $20, they would show this post (and only this post) to an estimated 700-1900 of my followers.  Yes, to the people who had already said they like my stuff and want to see it.  That number is still less than 5% of the fans I already worked to get, and they'll do me the honor of showing my post to those people for $20.  *sigh*

Now I'm sure there are those of you out there who are saying, shut up and pay up, but I honestly feel like I'm being extorted.  Extort:  obtain something by force, threats, or other unfair means.  It's not that I'm against paying for advertising, but not like this.  It just goes against every fiber of my being.  You might also think it's just a matter of what I'm posting because we all know a post with a link to the item on Etsy won't be shown to anyone, etc.  I shared a video of a puppy playing with a doorstop and that got over 6.6K views, though... 

In the midst of all this unrest, I came across a post on Facebook saying that posts about Facebook will be shown to many more people.  So being the rebel that I am, I decided to conduct a little experiment.  I posted this on my page:

It mentions Facebook no less than 15 times, and guess what?  In slightly over 24 hours, it's been shown to almost 10,000 people!  That's more than my previous eight posts combined.

Well ain't that a kick in the teeth?  What's interesting is that a lot of the folks who saw this post took the time to reply to it, and what I heard from a lot of them was some variation of "I like your posts but I haven't been seeing them on Facebook in a while."  

So what have I learned from this experiment (besides the fact that Facebook is apparently very narcissistic)?  For starters, I've learned that not everyone is as easily amused as I am.  In fact, 20 people decided to unlike my page when I posted this.  Another 15 people decided to hide all my posts (can someone explain why you'd do this rather than just unlike the page?).  Another two folks decided to report the post as spam!  Aside from that, I've learned that I'm going to have to find another way to connect with people.

I'm too old, too crabby and quite frankly, too disinterested to learn the social media game over again and try to keep up with the ever changing rules.  I'd rather spend my time creating beautiful pieces than learning the proper uses of a hashtag.  And I won't give in to the pressure to pay for posts.  I just need to find a new place to hang out with my friends.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Meanwhile, if you enjoy seeing posts from your favorite Facebook pages, here are some suggestions for you:  try "liking" and commenting regularly on posts from those pages and you should (theoretically) be shown more of their posts.  If that's not working for you, go to the page and hover over the "liked" button at the top, then choose "see first" in your newsfeed and/or turn on notifications.  It's a pain to have to do it for every page you want to see, but the other option is to have Facebook choose what you will see and what you will not.  One last option is to create an Interest List (instructions can be found here) and add the pages you want to see to it.  This option requires that you click on that list to see them, but at least you can find them that way, and see all the posts.

If you have any better suggestions, I'd love to hear them!  Oh, and in case you missed them, these are some of my posts in the last week:

And the puppy playing with the doorstop?  It's here.  You're welcome.

A Colorful Follow Up

by Sherri Stokey

Do you remember a couple weeks ago when I did a post on requesting custom pieces for your art jewelry and I gave you a couple of examples?  You can review that post here, if you're so inclined, or I can give you a photo recap:

Are those ringing any bells?  I've been like a fat kid in a candy store since then.  I've finished three micro macrame bracelets using the raku pieces from Valerie from Clay for a Cure:

And I've finished three using the bracelet bars from Sue of Star Spirit Studio:

You know how when you're eating something really, really tasty like the most awesome chocolate cake in the world and before you've even finished the piece you're eating, you're plotting how you can get another piece without looking like a pig?  No?  That's just me?  Thanks, guys, for leaving me hanging on that one.  Then just imagine you know what it feels like, 'cause that's what I'm like with these raku pieces.  I can't knot fast enough!

It's the colors, I think, that make me crazy (think cat with catnip).  There are so many different colors in each piece ranging from coppery orange to deep fuchsia to teal and olive green.  And just about everything in between, if you look close enough.

I'd like to write more and connect all these random thoughts and expound on some deep theories for you, but honestly, I'd rather be knotting.  So much to do!  And I still need to finish a piece for the David Bowie Blow Hop - is yours ready?

Seeking Closure

by Sherri Stokey

Have you ever had one of those pieces that just won't come together like you want?  I'm always thinking "outside the box" which translates into "always running into snags".  It's an occupational hazard, I think.  My latest conundrum was finding a closure for this micro macrame cuff bracelet:

I have a favorite button (doesn't everyone?) that is copper with a dragon on it and wouldn't you know since I love it the most, they discontinued manufacture of it a couple years ago.  I bought up all I could find and have a tiny stash of them I hoard jealously and use only on piece deemed worthy.  I really wanted to use one on this cuff, but I also wanted to use copper bars on the ends.  I didn't want to just do a button and loop closure, I wanted to make an actual clasp that would have the button on top of it.  I started messing with wire and the button and ended up with this:

It doesn't look too bad, do you think?  Until you fasten it, and then it does this: 

Well, pooh.  That's not exactly what I had pictured in my head.  I wanted the hook under the button like that, but hadn't anticipated the gap the hook would create, and that fact that it would put the button off center.  The hook part of the closure and the loop it went through just stuck out too far.  If I'd added an extra big loop on the other side to offset it, it would have made the bracelet too large.

Then I thought maybe I could do a sort of "S" clasp instead of just the hook.  That would make both sides equal.  I just had to make sure to keep it as small as possible so it wouldn't add length to the overall bracelet.

It seemed like this might work, until the main wire of the hook started slipping back and forth within the wire wrapping.

Well, shoot.  And by now my work area looked like a bomb went off:

I asked for some advice from someone who knows more about wire work than I do (I don't even pretend to be an expert on that subject) and after a lot of back and forth, came up with this:

It was late and this was a prototype - please don't judge me.  I figured I could refine the design later and make it neater.  It did at least put the button in the center of the closure.

But when I was testing it out, this happened:

The whole closure wanted to sit sideways in the piece!  By this time I was using language my grandmother would not approve of.  Oh, who are we kidding here - I was using language that would make sailors blush.  How could it possibly be this complicated to use a button as a closure without just using a loop around it?  So I put the whole thing aside (threw it aside might be more accurate) and left it sit.  For a long time - like a couple of weeks.  And when I came back to it today, this happened:

Yes, after all that, I went back to the button and loop.  And guess what?  The button sits off center again!

So what's the moral of this story?  I'm not sure I know.  Maybe I'm just supposed to learn patience.  Meanwhile, I've decided to leave the loop closure.  And market the bracelet like this:

So, tell me - do all your ideas work out like you planned?  Or do you have a not-so-perfect ending you're willing to share and make me feel better?

4 Tips for Neater Macrame

by Sherri Stokey

One question I get pretty often is how I get my micro macrame jewelry pieces to looks so perfect.  First let me point out that they aren't perfect.  They're tied by hand one knot at a time and there are imperfections in every piece.  That's sort of the thing about handcrafted jewelry - it isn't mass produced or made by a machine.  I think it's one of the things that gives handmade its charm.  

That all being said, I do try to make my pieces as perfect as I can.  I'm just wired that way.   Here are my top four tips for neater macrame:

1.  Straighten the cords before you begin knotting your macrame project.  I usually measure and cut my cord from the spools, then use my handy dandy hair straightener (flat iron) to get rid of the curls.  A large barrel curling iron will work, too.  I've heard of using a plain old iron, but  I cannot attest to the effectiveness of an iron since I steadfastly refuse to use one in any context.   The hair styling tools work swimmingly.  Getting the cords all straight like this will help you keep track of them much easier when it comes to knotting, especially if you're working with many cords.

2.  Use pins while you work.  I'm a pinnin' fool.  I use regular old sewing pins (straight pins) as well as t-pins to hold my work to the pinning surface while I knot.  This helps me keep the lines all straight and uniform.  It also gives me something to pull against when changing direction of a cord.

 

3.  Maintain consistent tension on the knots.  This is easier said than done and does require some practice for most of us mere mortals, but will make all the difference in your piece looking neater overall.   

4.  Be tidy when you finish off your piece.  The ends of your piece should look as good as the focal part, so don't slack off when you get close to the finish line.  The little details are what sets your work apart.  I like to use a split ring finish for many of my pieces (there's a free tutorial here on how to do that, if you're interested).  I like the more "finished" look this gives my pieces, but no matter what ending you use, make it neat and secure.  

And there you have it, my top four tips for neater macrame.  Do you have other tricks that you use?  I'd love to hear them!

Exotic Elephant

by Sherri Stokey

It's finished!  Remember last week when I was showing you the palette I built around Staci's elephant pendant?  The post is here in case you missed it - or better yet,  I'll refresh your memory:

After a bit of trial and error, I'm pretty happy with the results!

I made long skinny beaded macrame straps and then attached them to the pendant with ceramic beads in sloppy wire wraps for an extra pop of color.  It feels very bohemian.

 

I love taking inspiration from art beads (or pendants!).  Or taking inspiration from another artist's inspiration, if you think about it!  Has anyone inspired you lately?