Designing Jewelry for Teenagers - A Profitable Market Niche February 15th, 2008 · No Comments If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Have you ever wondered what age bracket you should be making jewelry for? Have you ever thought about one of the largest groups of jewelry purchasers, Teenagers? Teens purchase a great deal of jewelry.

Mosaic is a long tradition and the practical way of expressing this art is through the use of discarded materials. Broken items should be used instead of buying expensive materials in creating a new art piece. Old materials can be a great substitute and cost saving, too. They can be bought for less at garage sales, flea markets and thrift shops. Organizing your stockroom and attic is also a good idea for treasure hunting. It’s keeping something you valued and creating a memorable present for loved ones. This way you also practice recycling by creating new, meaningful and impressive craft from scrap.

Mosaic Materials

The beauty of mosaic is based on material used; the material plays a big part on your decision in creating your design. Aside from broken china, other materials you can use are stained glass in varying pieces, flat glass in different shapes, glass diamonds in different colors, sea glass, sea shells, gems, shaped tiles, mirrors, river rock, pebbles, marbles, charms, trinkets, beads and buttons.

Its size should be big enough to get attention and small enough to give detail.

Areas of bold color use against each other gives strength to the design and shades of one color gives quality and depth.

Creating texture by combining different materials, adds drama. For example, put matte and glazed ceramic tiles together to create tones of color or reconstruct the pattern on broken china to create interest.

Other materials you can use to decorate are stained glass in varying pieces, flat glass in different shapes, glass diamonds in different colors, sea glass, sea shells, gems, shaped tiles, mirrors, river rock, pebbles, marbles, charms, trinkets, buttons and beads.

Easy and simple crafts you can make using mosaic art are pots, candleholders, curtains, light boxes, lamps and even mural on your bedroom wall.

MOSAIC AS A GARDEN ART

Create colorful mosaic pot out of broken china.

Let’s admit, sometimes we broke beautiful and colorful plates by accident. Even a small chip or crack on our plates, we think it’s worthless.

Don’t throw it away or feel sad about it, good news is, you can make use of broken dishes by turning them into a lovely flower pot. It’s best for springtime or simply adds more color to your garden anytime and also, a perfect gift for the green thumb.

MATERIALS YOU NEED:

-Broken dishes

-Clay pot

-Craft glue

-Tile grout

-Hammer

-Spoon

-Wet towel

-Newspaper

HOW TO DO IT:

- When breaking plates into small pieces. Wrap it up with two sheets of newspaper before smashing it with hammer. Between each hit, save the pieces that are about 1 x 1 inch in size. Throw out the small debris and continue to break the big ones.

- Wash and clean the flower pot and let it dry.

- Cover your work surface with newspaper and place all the materials on it.

- Glue the pieces of the plate onto the pot. Try to space them evenly or create a simple pattern that you like as long as you leave space for tile grout.

- Let it dry overnight.

- Mix tile grout according to package instructions.

- Use a spoon to spread the tile grout evenly.

- Wipe off excess grout with a damp towel. Let it dry.

IMPORTANT TIPS TO REMEMBER

- To prepare ceramic tile or dishes for use, place a couple into the large and thick zip lock bag and seal. Hammer, until it is broken into pieces of various sizes. Remove from bag to your work area. Continue this process until all tile is broken up. This way you do not only avoid mess but you also protect yourself from debris. It’s cheaper to use newspaper but it’s not safe.

- Cover your working area with disposable paper to save time from cleaning after you finish your project.

- Before starting to decorate the pot, throw the broken pieces with sharp edges to protect yourself from cuts.

- If the mosaic is for indoors use any of the ceramic and glass materials. If outdoors ensure that the materials are frost resistant. Regular ceramic bathroom and kitchen tiles are NOT frost resistant.

- To give the pot a unique mosaic look at least half of the area on the pot should be covered by pieces from the broken plates. The addition of gems gives the pot a sparkling look.

- If you do not have broken plates, another good source is broken tiles. You can buy this at your local tile store or hardware. They may give it to you for free or at a discounted price.

- The beauty of mosaic is the irregularities of the shapes. This is one instance where pieces that fit perfectly together will be taken away from its uniqueness.

In today’s contemporary times, it is important to keep our spiritual side. Scrapbooking allows us to keep a record of our spirituality, shows God’s presence in our lives, and documents the religious milestones we have achieved.

Religious symbols are easy to find without going to a specialty religious store. The diversity found in scrapbooking supplies are endless and appeal to a wide variety of people, including many forms of Christianity. Items of different religious events are easily found, as well. From LDS (or Mormon) to Catholicism, Judaism, and other religious faiths, the world of scrapbooking offers a faith-and-history based documentation process.

Wholesomeness is a wonderful value the Mormon or LDS foundation in scrapbooking has attained. This achievement continues to allow religious scrapbookers to show their spiritual side and preserve the memories for future generations to come.

Each religion has different milestones to preserve. It is common for religions to form a scrapbooking club to preserve memories and history together. It is also common for members of different faiths to work side by side, sharing ideas and supplies, all with the same goal… to share their lives with God and show others, as well.

We all know Footprints in the Sand (http://www.wowzone.com/fprints.htm - gives 3 versions), the poem telling of God’s journey with you through life. While we don’t know who the author truly is, we can still benefit from the beauty of this beloved poem. This is a great “journaling” of one’s life… you just add the pictures. You will have instant beauty and spirituality, as it (the poem) applies to everyone.

Michelle McVaney, of BellaOnline, has a wonderful version of how-to begin Faithbooking. Her first step is to “gather your stones” (check out http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art25817.asp). She attributes much of God to other events as well, such as birthdays and other prayers that God has answered. I believe you will also find inspiration in her writing and begin to “gather” your own stones, beginning your own Faithbook… It could be the beginning to your own journey. If you weren’t spiritual before, it could be surprising to you how much of what you do really is (spiritual)!

How do you know where to find Design Team Calls?

* Look through Magaziness, Newsletters, E-mails
* Google Search
* Use outdated sites….CobWeb sites
* Visit up-to-date sites that publish Design Calls

There are many other ways, like going to all the different forums and looking them up one by one. This may be the route to go if you are only interested in getting on one team in particular, but, if you just want to try your luck or get your feet wet on a design team and then get picky you should have a plan.

What should that plan be? Know what you are good at, know your style, know your limitations and challenge yourself to not set limits that stifle your growth. I have been doing research for years on scrapbooking and home business tips among other things, and one thing I know from personal experience and from watching friends to design for the top scrapbooking companies, is that you really need to organize yourself, and be willing to pull a few all nighters if needs be.

I have hired design team members, hired writers, artists, and been these people myself…I have been the writer, been the design team member, and artist. I have also hired and congratulated many of women who have aspired to the same goals.