Fabric nusring necklaces - tyghalsband (amningshalsband)

I hope you have already notice my new fabric nursing necklaces. They are super-safe for little ones to pull and chew on, and they are made of organic cotton - what can be better? And the color variations make me so happy! More than 30 fabric necklaces with and without teething ring are available on my Etsy shop 

Många nya tyg amningshalsband är nu uppe på Tom Björn hemsida. De är sydda i ekologisk bomull och jag är riktigt stolt över alla dem fina färkombinationer!

Upgrading old shoe boxes

Since we have moved in into our new apartment, I am constantly collection ideas on how to improve my work room. So far I have a simple desk (even without drawers) and good old solid shelves that cover one wall. And all my supplies are lying on those shelves. Some in cute boxes I bought, some in even cuter tin boxes I got as a present, but the majority - in shoe boxes. And it's not because I am too lazy to get new craft boxes, I just believe that those shoe boxes are very useful and good quality. They are perfect size and anyway - why throwing away, when we can reuse?

But I admit, the shoe boxes do not contribute to the room decor. And so I have decided to upgrade them a bit - wrap them in paper. However, the regular gift paper is too thin and is torn easily, so what I took leftovers of wallpaper instead.

Our craftstore Kreatima sells the leftovers of fantastic designed wallpaper for super low price. And so I bought some.

 Then I took my show box, paper glue, scissors and a tape.



The first box will have the honor of being wrapped in my favorite wallpaper.

I started with cutting the wallpaper and glueing it to the bottom of the box.

Then took care of the corners - just like wrapping a gift.

Try to be accurate - you want to use those boxes for some years :)

Do the same with the locks, but don't wrap the paper on the inside of the lock, it will be too thick to easily close on the box. Try to glue and tape the paper very tight. But sometimes, when the wallpaper is of good quality and quite thick (like the one I used), it is unavoidable that the lock will be a bit too small for the box. Well, I have the cheat solution.
Cut two corners of the lock and neatly wrap them with paper and tape. It will look very neat, and your box will have a perfectly fitting lock :)

Here you go. I have done 2 boxes so far - 5 more to go.

What do I use them for?

Mainly for storing of supplies or ready made items.

And the locks are perfect to take item pictures on! Simple faded pattern is perfect for creating an atmosphere.



































And since it's not flat - it creates levels in the picture, that shows items in a more vivid and attractive way.

New Photosession

Yesterday I decided to finally make my once favorite necklaces available in my shop again.

This design was very popular in my shop last summer, and last month I came upon small amount of similar beads - and here we are. And yes, I know, we have fall now in Sweden, but I must think about my Australian customers too :)

Still October

It's berry time!

And I am going berry-wild!

Meet my Poisonous berries necklace!

And something less poisonous. Made of vintage beads - love giving old stuff new life :)

And something really juicy indeed - new berry pendant. also from a vintage bead.

Heart buttons

Just got these gorgeous buttons in my post box. Aren't they perfect! little candy-hearts.

Now I am thinking what design I will make with them.

Paris dedicated

We have just returned from Paris. It was my first ever visit there. Of course, I was impressed and bewitched. Can one not be?

So as soon as I came back I have created a new set of necklace and earrings.

 

The colors are inspired by a cloudy day in the centre of Paris, while sitting in one of the cafe terraces

 

Water, air, the entire atmosphere

Emerald and Fuchsia

The combination of emerald and fuchsia is very brave, fresh and popular this year.
Now when fall fashion is almost here, the pastels fade away and the bolder nuances are becoming more attractive. This necklace / bracelet features dark amazing emerald colored jasper and glass beads combined with bright fuchsia beads - definitely a conversation starter!

Hairpiece

Just another option of wearing my necklace / bracelet as a hairpiece.

Just pick the color matching your hair!

More pictures of this item - here

Easter in Wermland

Well, Swedish weather loves to surprise.

This year we thought of spending Easter with my in-laws in the western province of Sweden - just at the border with Norway. I have even dedicated some of my jewelry to Wermland.

This year it all started well,

bit of sun, birches turned purple-lavender - just before the green explosion. I was happily napping in front of the house.

Next day we woke up to a snow storm. Well, welcome to Sweden!

Despite it, we continued with out bon-fire plans and had tons of good time :)

 I hope soon it's green and springy and I will be inspired to make those green earrings again!

Bridesmaids jewelry

Planning your wedding? Bridesmaid at your friend's wedding?

Well, once I got a custom order of seven similar necklace / bracelets. The buyer was a bride, and she wanted all her bridesmaids plus two mothers to have my necklaces. But all of them will be wearing them in a different way.
I got a picture later - it was amazing. Here stand 7 beautiful ladies and all have the same item created by me, but used in a different way. One had it as a bracelet, one as a collar, one as lariat necklace, one as headband, another as belt... and even an anklet.

And this made me think - well, of course, the versatility of my items allow to be this creative!
and thus I decided to launch a new discount for brides - %15 if you buy 3 and more necklaces.
and if you send me a happy picture after the event - you will get any item of your choice for free... as a wedding present.

Isn't that cool!

So brides, talk to me and let me know which item might fit the color scheme of your important event!

Påskris

Easter is getting closer and it's about time to decorate your house.
Today I made a Swedish Easter tree - påskris - twigs with feathers.















If you want to know how I made it - follow my tutorial on OhDearTeam blog

Now it stands next to the entrance to our home and creates festive mood for us our neighbors.





















Happy Easter - Glad Påsk
















And here is one of my latest necklaces in Easter colors

Bone pendant

My mother-in-law has given me this beauty.
It's a pendant made from raindeer bone.
Amazingly beautiful and gentle. This type of craft is typical for Sami (Lapland indigenous people), nomadic tribes who live in the north of Sweden, Norway and Finland. They have beeing herding raindeers for centuries, mainly for meat and skin.

Bones are used mainly for decoration.



Isn't it gorgeous?

Flee market is LOVE

This weekend we had a 2-kilometer long fl;ee market in Stockholm. People sold EVERYTHING you can only imagine. I was of course, hunting for beads :))

and I was lucky - I found a lot of amazing old necklaces made of glass, stones, wood, shell beads


I am completely happy - now I have an entire treasure!

Several necklaces together - why not?

Summer is coming and I am working on new designs - lighter, happier and more close to nature.
By the way - who said that they can be worn one at a time?

They can be combined to fit your mood :)

Taking photos

everyone knows that taking good photos is essential, especially if you expose your product online and not in a real live shop.
And so keeping an online shop is a constant process on working with your images, improving the angles, experimenting with backgrounds, waiting for good light, mastering photoshop.

The photoshop part is a bit too much for me. I usually add light and contrast to my images, but ideally I would like to master photoshop so that I could play with the depth of field, designing new backgrounds etc. But well, since I am not a graphical designer, I know just the simplest actions. My plan is to really invest time and effort in it - take books from library, download online workshops.

But let me show you how (in my opinion) the angles of my photos have improved. Let's take the photo of my crocheted earrings.

The first two are "before" pictures. They are not awful, but could be improved.
This one is good because it shoes the exact size of the earrings. But the light is bad!

This image "earrings hanging on the glass" is not a bad idea, but in my case I think it is badly done. The white ballance should be fixed and I find proportions of the mug a bit wrong. Also this matte
This photo on the page of an old book is much much better then the first two. The background is quite, but not plain. The depth of field is shallow, with makes the earrings in the very focus of the image. And the light is neutral - the color of the earrings is exactly like they are in life.

Should earrings be photoed on models? Good question. Those who are against this claim that buyers are turned off by seeing their potential purchase being worn by someone else. But believe me, those who will be turned off are minority, more customers will be attracted to a beautiful model, showing how exactly these earrings will be worn.
But since this issue of taking pictures of earrings on the models is sensitive, make sure that yours is outstanding. So that you definitely can attract more customers than those you will probably turn off. Create a lifestyle in your pictures - the lifestyle that your product represents. In this particular case it is - gentle, innocent, graceful, old-fashioned, beautiful with a touch of fairytale.

And the last tip - if you make several copies of the same item - mention in the description that the item on the model is just for visualization. You customer will receive a completely new and unworn item.