It's a Boy! ... or Girl! baby sock monkey beads

If you know anyone who is having, or has just a had a baby, you must have one of my super cute little "It's a Boy!" or "It's a Girl!" sock monkey baby beads.  I am making these pink and blue sweeties for my etsy shop now.  They would make unique gifts for a baby shower, or for new mom and grandma.

I realize that not all of my customers are jewelry makers, and for those folks i offer to make you a bead pendant on a chain, at a unit price of $15 each, for base metal findings and chains. Sterling silver prices available upon request.  For more information, please contact me through my etsy shop:  www.TheBeadYouNeed.etsy.com.

[Keep out of reach of children.]

Toothy Sock Monkey Smiles

A series of toothy sock monkey beads will be entering my shop soon. Please meet "Wesley," first on the scene.

Sock Monkey Happened

I am a long time sock monkey maker. I started collecting them and creating them about 20 yrs ago... i dare say, they weren't popular when i was doing it. In this day of very affordable Made In China socks, it is very hard not to pass a hosiery department without eyeing them up for potential as sock monkeys.

I have bags of sock creatures that i had made on long road trips--wide variety of shapes, sizes, buttons, stripes, bells, etc.-- with the intention of offering them on etsy. But somehow, when it came down to it, i couldn't seem to part with them. Or a new baby or little kid comes into my life, and they get happily gifted. But this SM (sock monkey) got made spontaneously and quickly and is now in my etsy shop. I wash my hands of it, so to speak; i'm not allowing myself to have emotional connection. :-) And with a new Section now in my etsy shop, "Plush", maybe i'll be able to add more sock creatures.

Red or Green?

Here is my entry for the July New Mexy Etsy Team Challenge. The challenge was to make something that was inspired by the question: red, or green? For non-New Mexicans, this question means "do you want red chile or green chile with that food?"

I made 14 glass chiles and strung them as a ristra. I made a green chiles glass bead, and a sombrero-wearing sock monkey lampwork glass bead. I fashioned them all into a rather bold pendant using sterling silver findings and chain. Sombrero sock monkey and I like both red AND green, and appreciate the option!

Sock Monkey Classics

It has been a while since i made sock monkey beads, but a customer recently requested a couple, which got me thinking how neat they are, and so i made a few more. The classic Fez, and touque versions, are currently in the etsy shop.

Also, a really nice crusty old tortoise. His shell spots are actually made with copper green glass that reduced around the edges, but i don't why it did that since i didn't remember overheating it... But cool beans, i'm glad it did reduce like that! (I probably couldn't replicate this result.)

Sock Monkey Hat a Must-Have

Promoting beautiful handmade sock monkey hats available from seller jessicambaiseku on etsy. They are made in my old stomping ground of Edmonton, Alberta, which makes them twice as cool. And the baby in the photo is perfectly adorable in that little ear flap hat, so let's say they're at least three times cool. (Several styles available in baby to adult sizes.)

Business Machine Monday

As a follow up to my last "Business Machine Monday", I returned to ebay to test the waters last week, but found that my beads got very few looks, zero watchers and zero bids. Proving that it isn't the right venue for me and my little old business. But then again, beads aren't exactly flying off the shelf in the etsy shop these past two weeks either.

As one who has a lot of beads, folks almost always assume that i make jewelry. Maybe I should. But i don't. I really only enjoy making the beads.

But here's my business dilemma:

Let's pretend that the people supplying beads, buying beads, and those buying finished jewelry, are all in three differently sized swimming pools. In the kiddie pool with dancing elephants on the side you have me and the other handmade bead artisans. We supply the jewelry makers who fill the kidney-shaped in-ground pool with the lovely Grecian tile border. There are lots more folks in that pool, but since there aren't that many of us in the kiddie pool, i figure i may have a half a chance of getting noticed and selling my wares. Over there, in the official Olympics-sized pool, are the masses upon masses of buyers of finished jewelry. I decide that by staying in the little pool, i have a better chance of being picked than if i moved up to the kidney pool and made jewelry, and then hoped to be noticed by someone in the Olympic pool.

But, if i made finished jewelry ALSO, i might get a few jewelry buyers kind of stumble into my shopIF what i offer is very specific. For instance, i would be one of a gazillion people selling it if i sold bead earrings. But if i sold sock monkey bead earrings, that would put me pretty much in a bird bath, to continue my pool analogy. If anyone was looking specifically for sock monkey earrings, i'd be their man!

It's just a minor detail that the number of people looking for sock monkey bead earrings happen to be splashing about in a thimble.

Denim Car Blanket

It strikes me at this very moment that i should be making jewelry. I really find it too hot to put on a respirator mask and sit over a torch. We're still up around 100F every day. But, i've got loads of old beads sitting around here that could be put together to make bracelets or pendants or charms. But i have been working on a quilt, so i'm not feeling too guilty about the lack of new beads to show here.

I began recycling the kids' jeans when they were pretty small. I cut 6-inch squares of denim out of them. As the kids have grown, their jeans get bigger and i can get more than just a few squares out of them. Unfortunately, two of my boys wear those super skinny jeans, and they don't provide much expanse of material.

I simply sew the squares together as a grid to form the top of the quilt. For the bottom and binding i use a comfy flannel. And instead of quilting, i just make yarn tufts to fasten the top and bottom panels together. The result is a heavy, sturdy, blanket, with a certain amount of sentiment inherent. But mostly i just like the look and feel and utilitarian nature of this style of blanket.

Sock Monkey Keys

I want to share this really neat birthday present that my brother and his family sent to me for my birthday. Sock monkey key covers! How cool is that?!

Also, this is my 100th blog posting, which seems pretty amazing considering i don't usually have anything worth saying. Just like the majority of the bloggers out there! LOL Go, us!

And i stocked the Sock Monkey Beads shop with a new set. Someone can turn these into a pretty necklace or earings and pendant, maybe.