Archive for July, 2009

Featured bead! The un-plain “dash 3″

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

I wrote the title of this post to purposely make you ask “What?????”  Got your attention!  Now read on about one of the coolest beads I know, and why it’s so…

So what is a “dash 3″?  Rings & Things geeks like me use that name for anything silver-plated. And I wanted to talk for a minute about the basic, but not plain, silver-plated round bead.

What are the great points of round silver-plated beads?  Off the top of my head, here are 5:

Silver-plated bead awesomeness #1

Silver-plated bead wonderfulness #1

  • These have big holes. For example the 5mm bead above has a 1 to 1.5mm hole.  That’s a lot of space for stringing onto a range of wire, cable or cord!  How versatile!
2nd silver-plated bead wonderfulness

2nd: silver-plated bead supremacy

  • They’re shiny. Of course!  And with that real-silver gleam.
3rd silver-plated bead thing

3rd silver-plated bead thing

  • They’re affordable. Up next to a solid sterling bead, the “dash 3″ plated version is an incredible bargain.
4th silver-plated bead feature

4th silver-plated bead feature

  • What a blank slate to work with!  Silver goes with so many colors and textures.  Along with basic black (and lava stone :) ), this is one of the easiest ‘colors’ to work into all of your designs.
5th 'dash-3' fabness

5th 'dash-3' fabness

  • They’re from Rings & Things…so you actually know they’re silver-plated. We don’t try to tell you they’re sterling or anything else.  Just the facts, ma’am!

Dash-3′s have lots more going for them. Do you have a testimonial for silver-plated beads? Write it in a comment below!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

Setting a record?

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Over the last week, Rings & Things has uploaded a kazillion new entries to our free Design Gallery.  I think we set a record, and I want to share some highlights…

Great Southwestern-influenced earrings to introduce you to a really handy jewelry finding, the bead bar

Our bead bars show off pretty amazonite beads...

Our bead bars show off pretty amazonite beads...

Seasonally appropriate shark charms & rad surfboard pendants make this one a perfect guy / beachwear item… (update on August 13: I’m wearing this one to Rings & Things’ anniversary sale this weekend, so come see it in person):

A midsummer day's inspiration!  The Shark Week necklace

A midsummer day's inspiration! The Shark Week necklace.

Here’s another finding we sell that will find an appreciative audience this time of year…

A fun, customized bottle opener for your thirsty customers!  (Read the lettering)

A fun, customized bottle opener for your thirsty customers! (Read the lettering)

So get yourself to the shade of a beach umbrella in a place that has wi-fi, pour some iced tea, and browse the dozens of fun new designs in our Gallery!  Did I mention we’ve added several whole new design categories?  Resin designs, beadables (great gift ideas), metal stamping, causes & awareness, and more…

Have a fun summery design idea?  Share it in a quick note below!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

Cuteness: clip charms

Monday, July 27th, 2009

They’re cute, they’re new, and you’ll love ‘em too!

We’ve added a whole passel of clip charms that are just too cute to skip blogging about.*  The wonderful thing about these little items is that they come with a little lobster clasp already attached.  So they’re incredibly easy & fast to attach & remove.  And you can keep a stock of them on hand to sell your customers some add-ons!

These are silver-plated dangle charms, averaging about an inch in size.  (In other words, they’re charms.) :) There are 20 of them at last count, and they’re all fun.  Let me throw some visuals at you…

Most of these clipon charms are decorated with colorful rhinestones, some with a choice of stone colors.  Try this heeled boot on for size:

Heeled boot clip-on charm

Heeled boot clip-on charm

And for your summer beachcomber crowd, how about this flip-flop?

Flip-flop clip-on charm with jet rhinestones

Flip-flop clip-on charm with jet rhinestones

We’ve also got rhinestoned peace signs, moons, hearts, stars, dragonflies, butterflies and this sweet little key:

Rhinestone key clip charm

Rhinestone key clip charm

Not all that glitters is rhinestones, though.  Some of these charms are enameled in detailed, glossy designs that will knock your customers’ socks off.  See if this ducky doesn’t float your boat:

Enameled ducky clip-on charm

Enameled ducky clip-on charm

Or go Tampa Bay with this buccaneer:

Enameled pirate skull clip charm

Enameled pirate skull clip charm

There are plenty more dangle designs to check out, so connect up with our full selection in the online store.  Remember, the code word is “stock number 44-810″.  (Or “d’nagly” if you work at Rings & Things.) :)

Have more ideas for using these clip-on dangle charms?  Share in a comment below!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!

Thank you, friends

Friday, July 17th, 2009

We have lots of people to thank.  Without you we’re nothing!  We’ve set aside this Friday to single out several of you…

Craftsforum in the UK provided a fortuitous followup to our recent blog post about peridot.

AlsoMrsB's star-connector jewelry

We also noticed AlsoMrsB's star-connector jewelry...

Erin of Tesori Trovati took a road trip alone–with Russ “Troll” Bead.  Some awesome photos resulted…

You'll never guess what Russ Troll is standing on!

You'll never guess what Russ Troll is standing on!

Meanwhile, back at the bookshelf

How do these connect Melissa Lee and Rings & Things' Noryan?

How do these connect Melissa Lee and Rings & Things' Noryan?

(Ring ring.) Hi! Where are you? Could you pick me up a bead bowl on the way home?

CellChic's husband made this great bead bowl - lucky CellChic!

CellChic's husband made this great bead bowl - lucky CellChic!

By the way, a new blog just got started up by our friend J&M designs.  Give her a visit!

And KaneoheGirl at the HipGirlClips forum divulged her secret weapon in the war against split rings.  You need one too…

We’re always delighted to publicly thank people who talk nice about us.  Spotted an example of this?  Leave a comment to make sure we find out & acknowledge it!

DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!