After Christmas Sales is going on NOW...

Pre-After Christmas sales is going on now. Every day has different specials. Please check out http://bigib.etsy.com for more detailed information...
10% off or two for $40 constellation necklace and earrings including Orion, Big dipper and Zodiac.

Little dipper, North Star, Polaris Pendant

Most people would recognize Big Dipper constellation as it helps point to north star or Polaris. The Little Dipper is no less important than Big Dipper as the Polaris sits at the end of the constellation.

With that idea, I designed a new Little Dipper necklace. The necklace is made of drilled sterling silver disc with larger hole size to emphasize Polaris. It comes with black cotton cord. Sterling silver chain is also available.

To learn about this piece, please visit http://bigib.etsy.com

To learn more about Big and Little Dipper constellation in the sky, please click here.

Meet Sylvus Tarn from Rejiquar

Life is like a box of chocolate... you never know what you gonna get... I took this from Forrest Gump.
I do believe there is the truth behind those delicious chocolate. I met Sylvus from Adrialis, who is a very good photographer.

Of course, I have to ask him tips in taking good photograph and wondering how did all start...
Here what he has to say...

When as a child I asked my parents for a camera, they wanted to know whether I preferred one with lots of controls, or a simple one. I didn't think I could cope with something complicated, so I ended up getting a brownie type. My father's mantra was `Nothing is simple', and
that proved to be the case here---I wanted to photograph flowers and other closeup subjects, and so eventually he gave me his old voightlander, a 35mm pocket camera he'd picked up in Germany. This camera was completely manual.

Eventually, my mom sold me her SLR, a canon T-70, and it was with this camera that I took a studio photography class, since it was obvious that my untrained efforts weren't getting me into art fairs. At the time, the wisdom was that you paid a professional to take your shots but I was
too cheap to do that. (This sentiment has gotten me into trouble more than once.) Given that professional film was roughly $5--10 for a roll of 36 exposures, and professional processing another $10, the learning curve could be rather pricey. And it's still good advice, especially if
the images are needed for print work, such as magazines, at least for the next several years or so.

I'd say the thing that's improved my studio photography the most is doing it for other people---I shoot Kristin Perkin's work all the time, and her parameters are different than mine. Her requirements forced me to try new things. Recently I shot this huge jungle animal necklace for
another lampworking friend and because of the animal heads in the piece I had to use more of a straight down approach than I typically do with the round or vessel bead pieces that Page and I make. I never did really get it right but she was kind enough to pay me anyway.

Most of my improvements have been small, incremental things---little accidents and discoveries that, over time, accumulate. I think a lot of artists work this way. And sometimes, to be frank, I just fail miserably, give up, and wait a few hours, or days, or months, or sometimes, years, and try again. Eventually, with luck and persistence, I do better. These two conditions are why so many teachers tell you to save your earliest work, I think, so you do realize that you're
learning, even if it seems you're not. Jewelry in any case is kind of a pest because it's often so reflective (shiny) and glass adds the complication of transparency to the mix.

Digital photography has made good quality images far more accessible, not least because the film and developing are, in effect, free (technically, a sunk cost) with really only time and interest being limiting factors to learning. My interests are pretty narrow---reference shots or mementos when I'm out and about, and straightforward jury-type shots in the studio---but of course this applies to any style. There are a lot more tools nowadays too---besides
on board light-meters, there's autofocus, settable white balance, histograms, post-processing (I use gimp and gqview, open source image editing and image viewing programs). And, of course, there's a lot of online info for learning about photography, even for choosing cameras
(Phil Astley's DCReview is my fave for the latter).

Even something as simple as gridding is surprisingly helpful---I cannot seem to shoot level. Given the increasing use of zapplication and popularity of etsy, both of which require square formats, which I suspect reflects the need to organize thumbnails and icons neatly on
monitors, it will be interesting to see if cameras start incorporating square ratios, or at least square gridding, in addition to the traditional 3:2 proportion we use now. Already I crop much less tightly than I used to; I'm also having to learn to compose more squarely.

I admit, for digital photography, a good-quality monitor is a big help, but if you're short on cash, I'd look into linux---it's much less resource hungry than windows, so you can get by with older technology. Besides being free, of course. The generosity of the Open Source movement is one reason I license my stuff with the creativecommons license, and welcome the opportunity to spread what I know---a little bit of thanks for all those other folks' work that makes it possible for me to do digital photography (not to mention the rejiquar website, which is the raison d'etre for much of it) in the first place.

Photography is like a lot of other media. It *helps* to have the best equipment, but it's absolutely not necessary: I got by for years with a coolpix 990, which aside from its tendency to clip blue-based reds is perfectly adequate for web-based images or even 4x6 postcards. The
camera I use now, the coolpix 8400, is still basically a high end POS (point and shoot). With, admittedly, manual overrides. It's *almost* good enough to make 35mm slide-quality images for art fairs.

My other equipment consists of a tripod, a lightstand with 500w 3200 kelvin
bulb, a piece of scrap plexi, an old standup mirror, some translucent white plastic from Home Depot (i.e. fluorescent lighting panels), and a couple of sheets of 30x40 white foamcore. So really, I'm using the lampworking equivalent of a hothead and fiber blanket here. And just as
heat is ultimately the most important tool for making glass beads, light is most important component of good photography. And that's available to everyone.

sylvus tarn
etsy shop: adrialis
websites (with page) http://adrialis.com
http://rejiquar.com

Librarian or Archivist Gift Idea

Still looking for gifts for hard to find professional? Say like your favorite secretary or librarian...? How about copper and paper necklace?

The piece inspired by beautiful handmade paper I acquired when I traveled to Indonesia. Each paper is resin coated to add some durability.

Copper sheet is measured, cut, textured and formed. Clear varnish is added to help prevent copper from oxidizing. Each paper is carefully arrange to please the eye and ends with a balled sterling silver wire. Truly one of kind item.

To learn more about this piece, please visit my Etsy store.

Personalized gift for mother-in-law

It's always fun to have a returning customer. Mrs. B ordered a name necklace for her mom last year. It was a hit and she really likes it.

This year, she decided to order one for her mother-in-law. The necklace is slightly domed, brushed finish, lettering facing in turned out so beautiful.


What a lucky mother-in-law... Wouldn't you agree?

Architect gift idea

Still looking for a gift idea for an Architect? How about a pair of Mies Van Der Rohe inspired sterling silver earrings. With the idea "less is more", I designed and make this square earrings.
It's simple yet elegant.

Each square is individually hand cut, drilled, filed and adorned with colored beads. The earrings has some lined texture.

To learn more about this piece, please visit my Etsy store.

Meet Chiska from NaturesCouture

I guess the perks of being part of Etsy is meeting new friends who has similar interest. I happen to meet Chiska from EtsyMom who also makes jewelry. She took beautiful photography so I asked her few tips.

She's very kind to share the tips... even more... she even told me the basic photography... Wow, you are talking about exceeding expectation.

And of course, I would like to learn more about her pieces.
So, here's a bit on our e-nterview.

Bigib: Tell me more about your background.
NaturesCouture: Growing up, I would often go to my dad's workshop and watch him quietly as he worked on his silver work. I remember asking lots of questions and he would very patiently answer each one. Sometimes we would talk about jewelry, stones, and so forth. Other times we would talk about the world, nature, the universe. From this time with him, I learned a lot. I learned the art of making traditional Native American jewelry- an art handed down from his father and grandfather. I also learned an appreciation for nature, as well as respect for it. He taught me to see beauty in all things. I soon began experimenting with my own designs, taking apart old jewelry and making new out of it. As I grew older, I learned by using natural elements the beauty of the piece would be timeless- the way nature intended.
My love for the outdoors and nature has expanded into a love of photography. As I am in love with life and living, I always want to capture the moment, or remember the view as I was sensing it. I know it will never be exactly the same, but if I can create just a piece of it to take home with me, then I will be a happy girl. Over the years, I have learned some things about photography that help bring me closer to my goal. The beauty of photography is there is always something to learn.

Bigib: Why do you use the material you're using to express your creativity?
NaturesCouture: I love nature. I love natural things. I use natural elements in my jewelry because they do not fade. If I am creating a piece, I do not want the beauty to fail later, thus being a waste of my time and the buyers money. Beauty should last.

Bigib: What's a new project you are working on, or anything coming up?
NaturesCouture:I love to make soap! I love the feel of the natural oils on my skin. I can't imagine that I ever used the "soap" from the store on my body. The things in nature are meant to thrive off of each other. We are meant to use the natural elements around us. Our bodies love is for it. I am going to be adding a Nature's Couture Soap line to my Etsy site. I am stocking up the inventory!

Bigib: How is your design process?
NaturesCouture: As an artist, I cannot sit down and say, "I am going to design something." It is more an inspiration. Sometimes it hits me on a hike in the mountains. Sometimes it hits me while taking a shower. Mostly it hits me while I am doing house work. When ever it comes, I have to be ready with a pen or pencil and paper so that I can sketch my thoughts. Because as fast as they flow, they can be quickly forgotten.

Bigib: Do you innovate?
NaturesCouture: Everything that I have done this far has been original. I love to make things that are one of a kind. Lately, however, I have been thinking of making a line of duplicable items. These are basics that everyone loves that are not as challenging to recreate. Something that I have been thinking about, but the artist in me has been fighting...
Bigib:What is your favorite item and a brief description about it
NaturesCouture:
This was difficult as there are a few pieces that I feel unusually attached to.
The Michigan Sunrise Necklace
The focal I used for this piece is one of my favorites. The petoskey stone is a fossilized coral. It is commonly found along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, mostly commonly between Charlevoix and Petoskey, Michigan. What sets it apart from other fossilized coral is the beautiful dark round "eyes" or centers. This reminds me of the sun bursting with light as it inches over the horizon turning night into day. I found this particular stone on a beach of Lake Michigan near my in-laws home in Charlevoix, MI. I brought it home and cut it. It is always fun to see the design unfolding as you cut and polish the piece. The coral was cut at a slight angle with more defined "eyes" formed in the bottom right-hand side of the oval. It seems to be bursting toward the top left-hand side of the piece. After I cut and polished the cabochon, i enclosed it with a sterling silver bezel and attached 4mm rolo chain. I added some extra chain on the left side so that the necklace can be adjustable.
Feeling Green Necklace
This is a fun one as the pendant is an actual leaf! I wanted to preserve the natural feel of the pendant and what better to do this with than wood beads? As I am a nature lover, this is a favorite of mine.

Shades of Brown Bracelet
This bracelet has sort of a "beach" feel with the shell and the wood as well as the brown tones. It is a chunky bracelet, which I am a fan of. I love the beach (Hawaii to be more exact) and I love brown. This one is a huge temptation not to sell!

Just recently I was given the opportunity to stay at home with my 3 year old daughter. Up until this point I had been working outside of the home full time and missing out on so many precious moments. I had always dreamed of being with my girl as well being able to make and sell my creations from home. So I set up my shop in hopes of helping my sweet husband bear our financial burdens.

This time is allowing me to spend time with my little girl, to teach her about nature and life, and pass those traditions that were handed down to me, on to her.

To learn more about Chiska's store, please visit http://NaturesCouture.etsy.com

BobNuNu " Iris Design" Card by Valeree

BobNuNu cards, is a handmade card made by Valeree L, which is also known as "Iris design". The design would look like an iris of an eye ( or a camera ). This is achieved because of the intricate pattern of the design.

The card comes in the shape of dress, baby, star, dove, angel... you name it. Perfect for all occasions. It also comes in the "do it yourself" package.

I got a "do it yourself" package. It comes with the cut up card, pattern, instructions and the paper. You just provide your favorite tape.

Just follow the pattern and you will find this amazing, unique, one of a kind card.

Needs to learn more about this card? You can email Bobnunu(at)aol dot com.