The Beading Gem

I know many of you read my blog because you enjoy reading and learning about jewelry making and other crafts. But sometimes some of you find it a refuge from what's going on in the world right now. But this post is necessary as some of us are producers, or work for one, and all of us are consumers. Tariffs affect us all.

What are Tariffs ?
Tariffs are protectionist trade policies to deter people from buying imported goods. It is, in other words, an import sales tax. Any tariffs imposed by the US on other countries will be paid by US companies and consumers.

It's been a while since I last wrote about decoupage wood jewelry - see this past post, Easy Decoupage Pendant Tutorial Using Rectangular and Other Wood Shapes. This time around, I wanted to demonstrate how to use furniture repair markers together with Mod Podge and origami paper for earrings. Easy peasy but note, there is one other way to make it even easier - and that is with a laser cutter. I will leave that for another time.

I find that tear-drop wood blanks tend to be rather large so this mini-tutorial also shows how the same technique can be used for small teardrop earrings. The small blanks are available here.

A long time reader, Marlene Hoffman of Amira's Jewelry Design, recently wrote to let me know that "after several years of creating jewelry and attempting to sell at fairs and markets, I'm thinking of starting an Etsy shop. Do you have any words of wisdom to share about selling through Etsy?" Thanks Marlene for inspiring this post!