Holiday Gift Guide -- Give Handmade Jewelry from Peggy Li!

It's never to early to get gifts for the holiday or pick out items for your Wish List! Here are my top handmade jewelry picks for everyone on your gift list.

The TV watcher
I've been lucky enough to have pieces on various TV shows (Private Practice, Outlaw) and also have a few pieces I've made that have been inspired by hit shows! Right now the hot sellers are:


Star Charm Necklace (inspired by Glee)


Swarovski Slice Necklace (inspired by a Kate Walsh diamond necklace)



Lotus Hoop Earrings (seen on Private Practice)



The Hippie Chic Chick
I can't pick just one! Check out all of my Yoga/Spiritual Necklaces; you can't go wrong.


The Fashionable Mom
No question, a great pick for Mom would be a Personalized Necklace, like my Lowercase Initial Necklace.



The Girl Who Doesn't Wear a Lot of Jewelry
This is always a toughie. You wanna give a little glitter but not go too over-the-top. Luckily, Peggy Li Creations Handmade Jewelry has a wide variety of styles to choose from! My pick is my Simple Dot Necklace, because it is exactly that -- simple and easy to wear!


Need other suggestions? Post a comment, let me know!

FAQ: Did you make Kate Walsh's diamond necklace?


Kate Walsh Diamond Necklace

I am often asked if I am the designer who makes the gorgeous diamond necklaces Kate Walsh (she plays Addison Montgomery on "Private Practice"), wears in many episodes, and although I have many handmade necklace designs featured on Private Practice and other TV shows, this Kate Walsh diamond necklace is not my creation. From what I can see, the Kate Walsh necklace is a trillion cut diamond solitaire on fine gold chain or a fine 14k gold chain with diamond briolettes. Kate Walsh also wears these necklaces outside of Private Practice, so my guess is that it is part of her personal jewelry collection. **UPDATE**: In fact, Kate Walsh has confirmed the Trillion Cut necklace as Anita Ko herself via Twitter (thanks Ms. Walsh!)

"k8_walsh @plcpeggy the trillion necklace is anita ko, as are my cougar earrings and bracelets"

I do have handmade necklaces that have a similar feel to the Kate Walsh necklaces that you can find at peggyli.com.
swarovski crystal necklace
Swarovski Slice Necklace.
Sparkling Swarovski Crystal beads on simple drawn cable chain. Layer these necklaces for a gorgeouseffect! Starting at just $39, this handcrafted necklace is a simple necklace you could wear every day.

Rose Quartz Briolettes Necklace.
The palest of pink rose quartz stones float on simple drawn chain. Texture plus sparkle in this delicate gemstone necklace!

herkimer solitaire necklace
Herkimer Solitaire Necklace.
Herkimer quartz crystal has a diamond-like quality and just floats at your throat on your choice of delicate gold-filled or sterling silver chain.

white topaz solitaire necklace
Tiny Bubble Necklace.
Unusual cut of white topaz is centered on elegant rope chain. This handmade necklace design is timeless and classic.


Herkimer Slice Necklace.
Herkimer diamond crystals sparkle in this popular gemstone necklace style from Peggy Li Creations.


Enjoy!
peggy
Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li Creations

Peggy Li Creations Holiday 2010 Shipping Dates!



Holiday shipping dates are now posted at peggyli.com and below:

***HOLIDAY SHIPPING DATES 2010***
Please remember that mail often takes longer than posted delivery estimates around the holiday season. Please place your orders early to give me time to make and ship your goodies!

For (Continental US) USPS Priority Mail, FedEx and Global Express customers, please place your order by December 12 to ensure delivery by December 24th.

For USPS Global Priority Customers, please place your order by December 5 to ensure delivery by December 24th.

If you miss these dates, I'll do my best to ship your packages as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding! Please feel free to email me if you have questions about your order.

Happy Holiday shopping!
Peggy

Simple Necklaces

I'm often asked where I get my style and jewelry design inspiration. I always want to respond that I have a simple style! I love clean lines and wearable jewelry pieces. I want you to be able to integrate my handmade necklaces and handcrafted earrings into your wardrobe and be able to use the pieces every day. Many of these accessories you can mix and match with other necklaces to create a layered look, or wear them alone for a simple singular design statement. How you wear them is up to your imagination!

Here are some of the bestselling simple necklaces from Peggy Li Creations handmade jewelry:




Simple Dot Necklace
A flat circular bead in sterling silver or gold vermeil floats along fine chain for a great everyday jewelry look.





A single cluster of circles for a Single Cluster Charm Necklace is always a go-to favorite for a simple charm necklace option!



Little Leaf Necklace.
This popular necklace design is just a little off-kilter for a whimsical and not literal nature-inspired charm necklace.






Butterfly Twist Necklace
Seen on "Private Practice", each of these necklaces is unique because I make each by hand.


There are tons more styles at my website, Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li Creations!

Jewelry on Outlaw Worn by Ellen Woglom


Jimmy Smits and Ellen Woglom star in NBC's new show "Outlaw", and Peggy Li Creations handmade jewelry was there! Unfortunately, the show has been cancelled recently, but the remaining four episodes are airing Saturdays 9pm Pacific time.

Ellen Woglom plays young attorney Mereta Sprows. Here in the episode "In Re: Tracy Vidalin", Ellen wears my Pearl Disk Necklace in 14k gold-filled.

Learn more about Ellen at her Facebook Fan page!

Celebrity Client -- Ballerina Maki Onuki


I was thrilled to discover that a recent client was a member of the Washington, DC ballet! She is in her seventh season with the Washington ballet, and just recently won a bronze medal at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, WY.

Read more about Maki Onuki at the Washington Ballet website here: Maki Onuki.

What did Ms. Onuki purchase? These garnet and smoky quartz earrings, which are now sold out!



Thank you, Maki!

peggy

Registering for Shows at Tucson 2011

I've had some great responses to my plea for help with planning my trip to the Tucson Gem Show 2011. Thank you and please keep 'em coming!

One common piece of advice for navigating the overwhelming Tucson show event is to pre-register for the big shows. Avoid the long lines and get the details on what paperwork they require when you show up at their doors (and even if you pre-register, you'll want all your papers with you at all times!). Most require a business license, others also require a jewelry professionals' membership OR proof of jewelry purchases in the form of invoices with mimimum purchase amounts. A hassle, but I guess its their way of filtering the crowds to just serious buyers.

Here are some shows who have already opened their pre-registration forms for Jan-Feb 2011 Tucson. Registration often ends early Jan, so don't forget to sign up soon!

J.O.G.S Gem Show
http://www.jogsshow.com/index.php

AGTA GemFair Tucscon
http://www.agta.org/tradeshows/gemfair-tucson.html

Gem and Lapidary Wholesalers Show
http://www.glwshows.com/

Gem and Jewelry Exchange
http://www.gjxusa.com/gjxhomepage.html

Am I missing any biggies? Post your favorite Tucson shows here!

peggy

Celebrity Client -- Actress Meredith Eaton

Picture courtesy of Ms. Eaton. Photo by Brian Gordon.


I'm lucky to have the best clients ever for my handmade jewelry creations! Many of you have supported me for many seasons, including one fabulous actress, Meredith Eaton.

I first became a fan of Meredith on an episode of CSI called "A Little Murder". Meredith first encountered Peggy Li Creations jewelry on the set of "Without a Trace" and has been a fan ever since. This beautiful brunette has been a star on the big and small screen, including other memorable turns as Bethany Horowitz on "Boston Legal" and most recently on an episode of "NCIS". Check out her work on IMDB!

Even more fantastic, Meredith is also a clinical pyschologist. So not only is she creatively talented, but she takes that talent and uses it to help people. See her interview with Matt Roloff (of "Little People, Big World fame") here on You Tube.

What are Meredith's picks? She loves her:

Square Initial Necklace
Snowflake Mother of Pearl Necklace (only a few left!)
Square Monogram Necklace

Thanks again for your support, Meredith!

peggy

FAQ: Can I Grade My Website for SEO?


We've all heard about how important SEO, or Search Optimization, is important for your business on the web. There are many techniques you can use to improve the SEO for your website, some of which I talk about in this FAQ: How Do I Drive Traffic To My Site?

A neat tool I found recently is this Website Grader tool from SEO/Marketing company Hubspot.com. It runs a check on your website (and you can see what your competition is doing!) and gives you a quick summary of how your site own site is doing. I like using it to monitor my progress on site changes I make for SEO.

Check it out at Websitegrader.com.

best,
peggy

FAQ -- Non Toxic Pickle for Metal?

Eureka! After a few experiments, I've found a way to pickle my soldered metals to remove firescale using common household ingredients and one store-bought product! Now I can work on my handmade jewelry at home and not depend on going to the studio to do soldering work.

For those who haven't tried soldering, applying heat to your sterling silver causes it to darken with 'firescale'. The typical studio proceedure is to "pickle" the metal in a mild acid bath. There are also many commercial liquids out there, but I've never mixed them up myself -- I've always had a classroom environment that helpfully provided these (sometimes hazardous) chemicals. But it's tough to always have a class or a studio as a resource. So how could I solder and clean up those pieces safely?

The three methods I had heard about that were non-toxic were:

1) Lemon (only lemon, for the citric acid) Kool-Aid.
2) Vinegar and salt.
3) Pennybrite

My tools:
a ceramic cup
an electric cupwarmer
binding wire
wooden chopsticks

Pickle test was on: small 1/2" and 5/8" sterling discs that had sterling silver pieces soldered onto them with soft solder. Also fine silver components that had sterling silver components soldered to them.


I've now tried both methods and here are the results!

Lemon Kool-Aid
The idea here was to use a highly concentrated solution of lemon Kool-Aid and heat it like a pickling solution. I don't have a pickle pot (typically a small slow-cooker with a glass or other non-reactive heat container inside). I just use a ceramic mug and one of those desk cupwarmers to keep my liquids hot. I start by boiling some water and adding that hot water to the contents in the cup to get the heat going.

The citric acid in the Kool-Aid was to act as the pickle. While the solution smelled fresh and not chemical-y, the cleaning effect was slow and not very even across my firescaled pieces.

Buy some Lemon Kool-Aid on Amazon here! Kool-Aid Soft Drink Mix - Lemonade Unsweetened, Caffeine Free, 0.23 oz/envelope (Pack of 12)

Vinegar and Salt
The trick here is to use a saturated solution. I heated the vinegar to almost boiling, enough to put about 2" deep into the ceramic mug (enough to cover my silver pieces). To this hot vinegar, stir in salt until it no longer dissolves. This means the vinegar is completely saturated with salt. The vinegar fumes can be strong, so be careful!


When you add your items to this solution, you'll see a reaction immediately -- white foam and if your firescale is light, it cleaned immediately for me. Success!



Pennybrite
I heard about this product through fab website Beaducation.com. It's a past and biodegradable, safe for the environment. While the product is meant for copper cookware, if you rinse your items well it should work well on brass and sterling silver! Purchase your own from Amazon EZ Brite Penny Brite Copper & Brass Cleaner / Polish 7oz by EZ Brite Brands

I've been using Pennybrite now for all my firescale cleaning. It's fast and easy and I love it. Wear gloves if you have sensitive skin.

Hope these options have given you some fun information on non-toxic pickle options for your metalworking needs!

best,
peggy

Tucson Gem Show 2011 -- or Bust!


After many many years of making my own handmade jewelry, I am finally committed to making the journey to the Shangri-la of beads and stones... the (almost mythical) Tucson Gem Show!

This mass meeting of gem and lapidary shows from around the globe converges on Tucson Arizona every year in late January, early February. I'd love to hear stories and TIPS PLEASE from any beaders/jewelers out there who have gone to the show. How to get around? Where to stay? Which shows are not to be missed?

I'm looking forward to meeting fellow designers, meeting new supply vendors, and visiting the massive spreads of my current vendor friends.

Tips I've gathered so far:

1) Book lodging in advance. Well in advance. Many of the shows happen in local hotels and there is shuttle service between many of them.
2) Register as a wholesale seller in advance of the shows.
3) Have plenty of copies of your wholesale paperwork to show to vendors
4) Watch your belongings carefully! It's a big crowd with a lot of cash floating around -- and when there's cash, there's theft.
5) Bring a wheelie bag or other means of carrying your goodies around. There's lots of walking!
6) Remember the basics of visiting a gem show.

I'll keep posting on any updates or cool resources as I research more into the journey (can you say ROAD TRIP???). It's a *little* early to start planning, but I am determined to get there this time. Won't you join me?

best,
peggy

FAQ: Did you make the necklaces Rachel wears on Glee?


The girls on Glee have such signature style! Rachel Berry, played by Lea Michele, is preppy and pretty with dainty jewelry. Rachel recently wore a tiny gold star charm (she is sure she'll be a star someday). I did not make Rachel's delicate star charm necklace, but I do have a version of my own that you can wear and dream of stardom for yourself!

Star Charm Necklace, available in sterling silver and 14k gold-filled. It features a small puffed star charm (so cute!) suspended between fine chain.

Star Charm Necklace

I've added a new Tiny Star Charm Necklace for you to choose from! This delicate charm necklace is available in sterling silver or a gold-plated silver. It's also cute to stack more than one on a chain, if you'd like this option simply send me a message and I can set that up for you.

Tiny Star Charm


On the season premiere of Glee, Rachel wore a pretty initial charm "R". I have a teeny tiny initial necklace that has the same feel!

Looking for even more Glee-inspired jewelry? How about this simple Music Note Necklace? A perfect gift for a musician or music lover or Glee fan!

Once Rachel moved to the Big Apple, she started having a New York state of mind. Here is a cute Apple Charm like the one Rachel wears!
Tiny Apple Charm

I hope you enjoy these Rachel inspired necklaces. They are fun light charms that you can wear everyday.

xoxo
Peggy
Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li

New Look for the Peggyli.com Website!


Hi all,

I'm so excited to announce a big changes to the Peggyli.com handmade jewelry website! I hope these changes make your shopping experience even better than before.

Here's what is different:

* A wider, more roomy page.
* Now you can "like" individual items, which will be posted to your Facebook feed!
* Item description and details are higher up on the page for easy reading.
* Bigger images to show you more detail of the jewelry.
* An accordian menu that opens on a click to make your browsing less overwhelming.

Let me know what you think and if there are any other new things you'd like to see. I'll be continuing to tweak the site to make shopping for handmade jewelry easier for you.

peggy

Should I Get My Ears Pierced?


As I've mentioned before, I don't have pierced ears. This year, however, I'm thinking of taking the plunge and getting them pierced. In some ways, I prefer earrings over necklaces -- they can be so much more expressive, since they can move with your body! (And who wouldn't want to wear some sparklers like Angie does, above?).

What are your memories of getting your ears pierced for the first time? Where did you go (should I go to Claire's)?

Peggy

Peggy Li Creations Best of the Baylist


I just want to thank all my faithful readers and customers for helping Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li Creations reach #5 of the Best of the Baylist Designer Jewelry at sfgate.com!

The competition was stiff, I hope to climb a few more places next year.

Thanks again for your support!

Peggy

Graduation Gifts

Grab a great gift for your grad from Peggy Li Creations Handmade Jewelry! There is something for everyone, from simple necklaces to personalized necklaces, good luck charms and smashing fashion picks.

Give her (or him!) a personalized initial necklace. I have them in many styles and fonts, including an elegant Script Initial Necklace or modern Bauhaus Initial Necklace. Get one for yourself to commemorate the accomplishment for both of you!


How about a whimsical charm? Give them an Apple Charm (for the student!), a shooting star (on sale!) or a soaring bird necklace.


Able to splurge? How about a Petite Diamond Disk necklace or some Rough Diamond Earrings?


Post and let me know what gift you've gotten for your grad and congrats!

Peggy

FAQ: Cute Jewelry Storage

I'm often asked by customers how to store their handmade jewelry purchases. While I have a few travel and dish options over at the accessories section of Peggy Li Creations, I have recently discovered a fabulous (and perhaps unexpected) source of cute jewelry storage -- Urban Outfitters!

I'm always looking for new ways to display my jewelry, not only at home but for craft fairs and displays. I recently purchased both a standing rack and rotating rack from Urban Outfitters and they are sturdy and of good size (the rack is 17" tall!). My favorite part, however, is the great variety of storage styles, all with a whimsical or vintage feel. I couldn't buy them all, but here were some of my favorites:


Branch Stand, $28


Bird Spoke Jewelry Stand, $28



Double Tier Rack, $28

Sensing a bird theme, perfect for my bird necklaces?! I'll be keeping my eye on their selections from now on. Check out all the fab jewelry storage options they have in their Jewelry Stands & Boxes section!

FAQ: How do I spot fraudulent orders placed online?

UPDATED! I got burned again recently on an order that resulted in a chargeback and loss of my merchandise. As internet merchants, we are obligated to ship our goods before charging the customer, leaving us vunerable to fraudulent orders and scammers. Luckily, it happens infrequently for me, but that shouldn't have been an excuse to get complacent! So, I'm reposting this guide to help remind us all how to spot bad orders.

Online fraud not only hurts your bottom line, but chargebacks will affect your merchant fees. Since I've been an internet merchant with my site Peggy Li Creations, I've discovered that the best defense is to inform yourself of the warning signs and using the tools your merchant account should provide for fraud prevention. Some warning signs are:

-- Billing address does not match shipping address
-- CVV code does not match
-- Large orders, orders for your most expensive items
-- Orders for items easily resold
-- Requests for items not sold in your store
-- Requests for "rushed" orders
-- US credit card for foreign order(not marked as "International Credit Card" in your merchant system).
-- Customer places a "test" order that processes fine, then follows it up with a much larger order soon after and also orders it expedited.

You should be able to set up the first two checks, or require users to use matching billing address and provide CVV, in your merchant account. It is up to you to decide whether to allow or decline orders that do not meet the Billing Address or CVV code requirements.

Many CC merchant services also provide authorization help -- that is, you can call in for orders over $200 and re-verify the card before charging (and shipping). If I had done this with my recent order, I would have caught that the card had been cancelled before shipping out my goods.

An example of a clever scam -- I had an order from France that seemed legit -- I even got a story about needing items quickly because it was for a wedding (many emails asking for tracking number when I shipped it, when I would ship, etc). I let this first order through, and soon after got a second even larger order from the same customer. However, I got an email with the customer saying she'd like to get additional items not carried in my store, she was going to "ask the bridal party what they wanted..." and hopefully I could "help out." I immediately cancelled the order as fraudulent and told the customer I couldn't help them. I did not hear back at all from this customer since I did so.

Educate yourself on the warning signs! These guys are getting more and more savvy and can cost your business in inventory and, even worse, a bad credit record.

I found a fantastic PDF guide from the folks at PayPal about Fraud Prevention (they are telling you why PayPal is a great solution, but they explain a ton about Internet Safety): https://www.paypal.com/en_US/pdf/PP_FraudPrevention_Guide.pdf

Review: The Complete Metalsmith, Student Edition



Master metalsmith and teacher Tim McCreight wrote one of the bibles of metalsmithing, "The Complete Metalsmith" which has been revised many times over the years. I purchased the student version of the manual, hoping to get the basics on starting to do bench work. I was not disappointed!

McCreight covers every topic you'd want information on for starting bench work -- tools, techniques, materials. Be warned that this is NOT an instructional manual -- it is more of a dictionary that explains materials and techniques and how they pertain to metalwork. There are tips and hints and illustrations throughout of these techniques, but they do not explain projects from beginning to end. Despite the fact that it isn't an instruction manual, it is still an extremely useful guide to orientating yourself around a metalsmith workbench.

Spiral bound to lie flat and with heavy cardstock cover, this book is meant to be with you while you work. If you're just starting to explore metalsmithing, I recommend this book to help get you started. If you are craving more in-depth detail, consider getting the Professional Edition of this book.

The Complete Metalsmith, Student Edition on Amazon
The Complete Metalsmith, Professional Edition on Amazon

Tim McCreight's page on Amazon

Clip On Earrings

At Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li Creations, you have options for clip on earrings! I myself don't have pierced ears (funny, I know, since I make jewelry), so I have searched far and wide for the best clip on earring options. You don't have to go without earrings if you have non-pierced ears!

I have a few styled designs, like these fancy Clipon Cliptastic Earrings, made of Thai silver or these outrageous Sun Disk Earrings with your choice of pink or white coral.

There is the option of getting custom clipon earrings, however! Most of my handmade earring designs can be converted to clips! You lose the earwire detail, but you can get the chain/charms/gemstones on your choice of a springback or screwback earring.

What is the best clip on earring choice for you?
Springback (additional $15): These work with a spring action, with the tension holding the earring to your ear. You can adjust the tension slightly by squeezing or opening the earpad.

Screwback (additional $20): I prefer this style of clipon earring, since the style is sleeker and you can adjust the tension by turning the screw-on earpad. I have these in both sterling silver and gold-fill.

If you're interested in clip on earrings, check out my handmade earring styles and simply email me for details on getting your style converted to clip earrings!

Best,
peggy

Laser Cut Acrylic Jewelry Designs

I'm so pleased to announce new laser cut acrylic jewelry designs at Peggy Li Creations! Made from patterns I've created myself, these lightweight items are modern, but still have a "handmade" feel.



I can make designs in a variety of colors and materials -- bamboo ply, 100% wool felt, and acrylic.

Hope you enjoy them! Please add your comments here for designs you'd like to see, colors, and materials!

best,
peggy

Peggy Li Creations Gift Wish List


Newly added to the Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li Creations website -- the ability to add jewelry items to your Amazon Universal Wishlist! With the click of a button, you can add your favorite PLCs to your gift wishlists on Amazon. Anyone browsing your Amazon wishlist will be able to also see your jewelry picks!

Add away and tell your loved ones!

Best,
Peggy

All the Shades of Grey Website


Are you a Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice fan? Get all the scoop at the All the Shades of Grey website, a fan site maintained with love by Adam and Megan. Get scoops, analysis, pics and news, all gathered into one place!

Here's a little bit from Adam about his labor of love:

"I appreciate the fact that you want to write a blog entry about the site! That would really be awesome. I started the site on May 16, 2006 - the day after the season two finale of Grey's Anatomy - because the season two finale had moved me so much, and I needed something to keep me busy and connected to Grey's over the summer. The longer the summer went on, the more and more I found that I loved running the site and that I didn't want to give it up, so I kept it going. As my love for Grey's Anatomy grew, so did my love for television in general, but Grey's Anatomy (and subsequently Private Practice) has always remained at the core and been my favorite series ever. Myself and my partner, Megan, absolutely love running All the Shades of Grey, not only for ourselves, but for the fans and readers as well. We don't ever plan to stop providing the best news and reviews out there for fans of Shondaland and beyond."

I'd like to thank Adam and Megan for including my handmade jewelry in their Round Up episode summary sections.

So please check out their website! You can also follow the All the Shades of Grey news on Twitter.

Valentine's Day Jewelry Gift Picks

New Fonts Coming for Personalized Necklaces!

Coming soon to Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li -- two new custom fonts for stamping! They should be here in a few weeks and will give you even more options for your Personalized Necklaces.

I'll be adding, in addition to my plain Gothic and Typewriter fonts, a totally unique Script font and a charming large Lowercase font to choose from!



I hope you'll like them as much as I do. Valentines Day is just around the corner (and after that, Mother's Day). Get in your orders early or join my Facebook Page and post suggestions for what you'd like to see!

best,
peggy