Giveaway Winner: Earrings Visual Project Guide

Thanks to those of you who took the time to enter to win our little “treat” this week: a free copy of Earrings Visual Project Guide. Just in time for holiday gift-making, this book includes earring designs for a wide variety of tastes and ages.

Our lucky winner this week is . . . VickiT! Congratulations, Vicki! We hope you find lots of inspiration from Chris Franchetti Michaels’ earring designs.

To all of you who are out there making amazing stuff, please remember our Flickr page, where you can upload photos of the projects you complete from Wiley Craft books. We love to see the beautiful things you create!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Free Project: Segmented Rondelle Earrings

Now that I’ve stirred up your excitement about Chris Franchetti Michaels‘ latest book, Earrings Visual Project Guide, I’d like to give you a sample of the many great designs she created for the book. Her Segmented Rondelle Earrings are featured on the front cover and are included in the chapter titled Long and Linear. With their fresh bronze metals and ruby-red beads, they strike a lovely balance of casual elegance. And at the end of the pattern, you’ll find an appealing variation on the design.

Want to make them yourself? Click here for a PDF with the full instructions: Segmented Rondelle Earrings. If you give them a try, don’t forget to post your photos on the Wiley Craft Flickr page!

Announcing Earrings Visual Project Guide–and a Giveaway!

I’m thrilled to announce the latest offering from Chris Franchetti Michaels, the author of Teach Yourself Visually Jewelry Making & Beading (among many other great books!): Earrings Visual Project Guide. This book is amazing not only because it includes a wide variety of stylish earring designs, but also because it shows you step by step how to make each pair. With both text and photos, Chris painstakingly details each important point in the process, showing you exactly how to perform each step.

Inside the book, you’ll find a review of essential tools and techniques, plus a chapter devoted to making your own ear wires. The projects are broken down by style and include embellished hoops, long and linear designs, boho and glam styles, and rugged and retro-inspired earrings.

If you’d love to get your hands on a FREE COPY of this book, enter our giveaway! Just leave a comment on this post before noon Eastern on Friday, and on Friday afternoon I’ll choose a lucky winner at random and announce the winner here.

And check back here on Wednesday for a free project from the book!

Free Project from Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making & Beading

Knotted and woven bracelets are popping up everywhere these days, from Etsy to Nordstrom and beyond. Why not try your hand at making your own? Chris Franchetti Michaels shows you how in her Beaded Square Knot Hemp Bracelet project from her book Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making & Beading–a guide that’s packed with how-to information about all kinds of jewelry-making techniques, including the macrame knotting used in this project. You just might feel like you’re back at summer camp!

For many more great projects and techniques, check out More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making, also by Chris. And check back here for more news about her latest book, Earrings VISUAL Project Guide, coming this fall!

Support Livestrong and Get a Free Book!

One of our favorite Wiley craft authors, Chris Franchetti Michaels, is raising money for Livestrong and asked us to help spread the word. Better yet, she’s giving away a free jewelry making or beading book to each person who contributes via her Livestrong donation page! (Supplies are limited.) Click here for details. Good luck, Chris!

Giveaway Winner–More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making

Happy Friday, everyone! I’m happy to announce the winner of a free copy of More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making by Chris Franchetti Michaels: Shaiha! Thanks to everyone who left a comment in order to enter.

Have a great weekend!

Free Project from More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making

Looking to add some new jewelry pieces to your spring wardrobe? Chris Franchetti Michaels, author of More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making, offer this lovely project from her newest book. The Filigree and Gemstone Ring has a trendy antique look, and following Chris’ clear, step-by-step instructions makes it easy to make. Click here for details: Filigree and Gemstone Ring.

Announcing More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making by Chris Franchetti Michaels

I may be biased, but trust me when I say that Chris Franchetti Michaels is one amazing lady. She’s our resident jewelry making and beading expert for the Teach Yourself VISUALLY series, and she’s just come out with a fantastic new book: More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making. If you’ve already got some experience with jewelry making and you’d like to learn some new techniques, this is the book for you. It covers designing with chain, basic metal work, metal cold connections, sculpting with metal clay, embellishing metal, using adhesives, working with resin, glaze, and leather, and more, step by step, with more than 900 photos to show you exactly what to do. Check back here on Wednesday for a free project from the book–a gorgeous filigree and gemstone ring. Better yet, leave a comment on this post by this Thursday, April 19, and I’ll pick a random winner to receive a free copy of the book!

Make sure to check out Chris’ website, beadjewelry.net, too, for free projects, tips, and information about the latest trends in jewelry making.

Video and Giveaway – How to Make Money Using Etsy

Today, Handmadeology‘s Timothy Adam offers a couple more tips on how to improve your selling experience on Etsy. Leave us a comment on this post and one lucky winner will be chosen at random to receive a copy of Tim’s new book How to Make Money Using Etsy.

Learn how to schedule a whole week’s worth of social media promotion using Shop Marketing Helper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7whhmuUSRE

There is a new Etsy app that just came on the scene called the Shop Marketing Helper that will help Etsy sellers save time by scheduling all their social media marketing efforts. I have been scheduling the social media promotion of the Handmadeology Etsy shop and our traffic and sales have doubled and beyond!

25 strong backlinks to your Etsy shop in 3 mins or less! 

Now your Etsy business can have a social media presence even when you can’t be there!

http://handmadeology.com/etsyshopmarketing

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Great Examples of Etsy Facebook Fan Pages Using the New Timeline Design

Tim Adam of Handmadeology.com, author of How to Make Money Using Etsy: A Guide to the Online Marketplace for Crafts and Handmade Products, has graciously offert to share some wonderful tutorials and tips with our Wiley Craft readers.

As a creative business owner there is no doubt you want your Facebook Fan Page to draw fans in and keep them there. You also want your images to match your brand and at the same time be crisp and clear. The deadline is fast approaching and all Facebook Fan Pages will make the switch over to the new timeline.

Here are some examples from the handmade/design world…enjoy!

1. On the Handmadeology fan page we are featuring new fans each week. You can get your Etsy items featured by clicking the cover photo, liking and sharing the photo, and leaving your Etsy shop link. This helps stimulate fan interaction and greatly increases our reach on Facebook.

2. A little biased here as this is my wife’s fan page! You can see she integrates her logo along with her slogan and samples of her work.

3.  Great design here. Shows off designs and lets the fan know what their shop is selling.

4.  Eye-catching for sure! A close-up shot piques the interest and makes me want to find out more.

5.  Love this product display!

6.  No text, but simple eye-catching photos!

 7.  Adding a photo from your last craft show is a great way to show your fans what is happening offline.

8.  Get seasonal with your cover photo.

9. Great mix of photos and info.

When you are designing your timeline cover, profile pic, and even your custom app pics, it can be a pain and time-consuming. With this Photoshop template you can drag your images and test them out in Photoshop first.

Fan Page Timeline Photoshop Template FREE Download:

Download HERE

With this template you can design your timeline before you upload them to Facebook…saving tons of time!