Merry Christmas!

I found this as I was thumbing through quotes for today and thought I would share because it speaks to me about giving items to our loved ones that are handmade by an artist.  Artistry comes in many forms.  Each rosary, chaplet, or Christian jewelry that I make is designed by me and I feel this poster speaks from the heart....

It is less than a week until Christmas. It's time to slow down the work in our shops and focus even more time on our families and friends as we celebrate the birth of Christ, our families, and the love we share for one another.  

Praying that this year brings each of us closer to God, praying more daily, thanking Him more for all of our many blessings, and listening to Him in the stillness of our prayers. 

God Bless you all! Merry Christmas!!

Jen  

Stocking up my Etsy store for Christmas!

Several  years ago, when getting ready to do my Christmas shopping, I made up my mind that I wanted to do something different....

It all started somewhere around Thanksgiving of that year, as I started to gather my list together and try to think of ideas for my individual gifts.  Usually, I hunted within the brick and mortar stores  and sometimes I would find things right away, other times, as the days quickly passed and Christmas was only a few days away, I would begin to panic.  I did not have Christmas gifts for everyone on my list.  

This particular year, I ran across Etsy.  I was super excited.  I thought of each person on my list and tried to find a matching gift.  I found something for EVERYONE! It was at that time that I knew how important Etsy was to those of us who appreciate handmade, quality items AND want to try something new this Christmas. 

It wasn't right away, but several years later, as I began making my handmade, wire wrapped rosaries and Christian jewelry, I knew Etsy was where I wanted to set up my online store. 

I do not mass produce things.  I collect beads, vintage and new. Then, I plan a design and pick out the wire I will use.  Some designs take days.  Others I can make in several hours but all are made with love.  My shop will not be the inexpensive priced shop. My beads are quality beads and my items are labor intensive.  I take great care in purchasing my supplies and work carefully to produce a quality product for my customers. 

I will continue to work and add new items to my store;  not only to get ready for Christmas, but also for special occasions: weddings, birthdays, and other occasions that are close to your heart.

I can't believe it is already November 16th.  If you want to find the BEST holiday gifts, give Etsy a try.  There are many excellent sellers on Etsy.  I've had excellent experiences with purchasing on Etsy. I hope you will give us a try.  :-)

Happy shopping!! Jen

https://www.etsy.com/listing/558926256/handmade-heirloom-topaz-five-decade?ref=shop_home_active_1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/561354151/swarovski-womens-handmade-bracelet?ref=shop_home_active_14

https://www.etsy.com/listing/561354151/swarovski-womens-handmade-bracelet?ref=shop_home_active_14

https://www.etsy.com/listing/571349679/handmade-saint-jude-chaplet-st-jude?ref=shop_home_active_2

Miraculous Medal - The Story and Symbolism

On many of my rosaries I have the Miraculous Medal as my centerpiece. If you ever had questions about what each of the symbols mean, this may be a great explanation for you. I found it on Pinterest and have it saved under Holy Rosaries on my Let Our Light Shine on Pinterest site.

God Bless,
Jen

Etsy vs. Pattern

Today, I made the choice to uninstall my Pattern site on Etsy.  I was still in the free for thirty days timeline and the whole reason I added the Pattern site was because I wanted to draw more viewers to my eStore.  Some may say that I didn't give it enough time but after a bit of research, in my opinion, Pattern is just a fancy template of the same page for $15 dollars extra a month.  

Having bought domain names and purchased and published websites, my goal was to be able to add meta tags into my site so that Google and other search engines would find me.  However, when adding Pattern to your eStore, you are still not in control.  So, for me, Pattern is a great format to look at, but it did not bring any new traffic to my store in the weeks I used it.  

My domain name, which is LetOurLightShine.us will be directed to this blog and from there, customers may choose to go into Etsy and purchase an item they have found.  

I'm learning as I go and right now, I don't pay for any advertising because I am spending all of my time building my inventory of items. I still feel like I have creative designs in my head to add before paying for advertising. In the meantime, I am sharing new items on my social media sites.

The problem for new store owners at Etsy, due to the HUGE number of sellers on the site, is to be FOUND! At this time, I want to spend all of my money on materials and enjoy the design process.  I don't want to sell anything mass produced.  Each item is unique in its own way and when someone buys something from me, they have confidence that it was handmade in my studio and not mass produced and thereby loosing it's uniqueness.  

Someday, I hope to be able to share how my eStore was found.  In the meantime, it's off to more creative wire wrapping.  

Have a wonderful day!
God Bless, 
Jen

Rosaries - Love the Crucifix, Centerpiece, and Medals

One of my favorite things about making rosaries, in addition to mix and matching vintage beads, is choosing the crucifix and centerpiece and/or medal.  I try my best to make a variety of each so that my customers have a choice, and not everything is the same.  My focus, as I make items for my store, is for customers to find an heirloom or gift that will last many, many years and a unique rosary.  

When you open a shop, you have to decide if you want pre-made items that are available and can be mailed immediately or items that are made to order. I use vintage beads and a traditional rosary has 59 beads.  It would be unusual to have more than one set of beads that are identical and even if I did have more, I would not want to make two rosaries that are exactly alike.  The creativity of having each one unique and beautiful is my goal.  So, all of my rosaries are pre-made and there is only one item available exactly like the item for sale.  One of the joys for me in design, is to put together a rosary that I feel is special, just for you.  And when you look at it, you will know it is the perfect gift and the colors and design are perfect for you or your loved one. 

One of the most difficult things for me to do is not to order hundreds of crucifixes, centerpieces, and medals.  I have hundreds now, but I love to look and collect more.  I also love the wire available and want additional tools, that I really don't need, but would be a luxury item in my toolbox.   The artist in me wants more supplies and the business person in me says... wait, sell more first, then buy more supplies.  It is a balancing act for sure. 

Tonight I finished another one decade rosary. I have not posted it as yet and will post it tomorrow.  It is referred to as an unbreakable rosary. Look for it tomorrow.  I love the one decade rosary because you can pray the same as your traditional beads but with your rosary sitting completely on one hand.  

Earlier today, I posted a baby blue one decade rosary which looks like this:  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/459245156/rosary-handmade-catholic-gifts-one

The pearl glass beads were taken from a necklace from the 60s and the beautifully cut crystal, Our Father Bead, was also from the 60s.  They are simply beautiful and of course the crucifix and center match the blue theme.  They would make a wonderful gift or a special item to keep.

I hope you enjoy my daily story about my Etsy store: Let Our Light Shine.  I hope that through my rosaries many more prayers will be lifted up.  God Bless!  

Jen  

 http://letourlightshine.us

Chaplet of the Divine Mercy

Introductory Prayers:

You expired, Jesus, by the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.  O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

(On the cross say one Our Father, one Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed.)

General Prayers:

(Begin at the divider bead below the center and pray...)

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

(Pray on each of the ten decade beads:)

For the sake of his sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.  

(Repeat the above four more times, once for each group of one Our Father and ten decade beads.)

Concluding Doxology:

(On the each of the three small beads near the crucifix:)

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen. 

For an individual copy in more detail, go to www. marian. org. 

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Today I completed making a Chaplet of The Divine Mercy and posted it in my Etsy store.  The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy is prayed using the traditional ten decade rosary beads.  The beads that I designed are using vintage crystal beads which are iridescent and have blue tones. This is perfect for this chaplet because it is suggested that you use red and blue beads and these vintage iridescent beads are red but have shades of blue in the light.  The Austrian crystal Our Father beads are over 20 years old also and also share many colors when in the light.  Many years ago, in the late 80s and 90s, I collected crystal and glass beads.  All of the rosaries and chaplets that I make are from this small collection of beads.  This is the chaplet I made and posted today. 

Chaplet of The Divine Mercy 

Rosary Tools

Rosary Tools

One of the things that I've learned about tools is that when you work at any craft, the tools you use will make or break you.  In other words, it is worth your time and effort to purchase the correct tools to complete projects and properly fit your hand.  

Over twenty years ago, I made all types of jewelry from polymer clay to fiber art.  I had a set of jewelry tools that worked for me at that time.  However, when I decided to begin making rosaries and chaplets, I realized that I would be working with wire in various gauges and would need a much improved set of jewelry tools.  

At first I ordered rosary pliers and these may work perfectly for you, but for me, I found that my tools of choice were round nose pliers, chain nose pliers, wire snips, and flat nose pliers.  The idea of the rosary pliers is that you have multiple tools in one but my experience is that it is far better to have the individual tools to complete my rosaries.  When people look at your work, the quality of the tools you use shine through.  

Interestingly, the high price of the tool is not ALWAYS the best tool.  I love Xuron pliers.  They are not the most expensive, nor the cheapest, but work great for me.  I have one pair of round nose pliers that were made by Beadsmith.  They only cost $7 but I love them and use them everyday. You must try out different tools, holding them in your hand, for comfort and reliability. 

Again, this is MY experience and not necessarily what works best for you.  If you have time, please check out my rosary store on Etsy:  Let Our Light Shine  

Here is an example of my work. God Bless.  

Jen

Handmade Turquoise and Iridescent Crystal Rosary with Vintage Beads

Let Our Light Shine - Rosary Etsy Store - Blog Overview

Let Our Light Shine - Rosary Etsy Store - Blog Overview

In each new post, I'd like to share my experiences setting up an Etsy store where I am selling my rosaries. I also want to highlight one of my favorite rosaries or chaplets often. 

This particular rosary is one of my very favorites....

My rosary and chaplet store is now open on Etsy.com, Let Our Light Shine, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share a set of beautiful green and iridescent crystal rosary beads that I have in my shop. This rosary is handmade by me.  

****************Let Our Light Shine *******************

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

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Please read more about this rosary on the link below.  The two photos below are additional photos of the rosary that are not on the store site. Please take a look.  :-)

Handmade Iridescent Green and Clear Crystal Vintage Bead Rosary

The six Our Father beads are very unique.  Four are green and two are clear iridescent crystals.  They pick up color beautifully. Each is from my collection which I have had for over twenty years.  Most of the beads in my collection where already twenty plus years old when I purchased them in the 80s and 90s.  I love the fact that vintage beads are unique and have their own personality. Plus, they make an extra special gift. The photos don't really show all of the color in the beads, but gives you a good view.  Each rosary holds many future prayers and would be a wonderful heirloom piece.  

God Bless!
Jen  

Let Our Light Shine

Welcome to Let Our Light Shine Blog!

I'm very excited to share with you my new store Let Our Light Shine! It is a store that I just opened a couple of weeks ago on Etsy.com with my handmade rosaries and chaplets using vintage crystal and glass beads.  My idea of naming my shop Let Our Light Shine is that I wanted my rosaries and chaplets to be a way that we can let our light shine and share our faith in God. Each rosary and chaplet is a prayer waiting to be said by you or a loved one.  

Over twenty years ago, I stopped collecting beads but saved everything that I had previously collected.  At that time, I was making jewelry designs and incorporated these beautiful beads into my work. I saved these boxes of vintage beads and stopped making jewelry. 

My youngest grandson was being baptized and I decided to make him a pair of rosaries for his baptism. I loved every minute of making this rosary and work up one morning with the name Let Your Light Shine.  However, that name was taken as it is a popular scripture verse and so I decided to make the title so that it incorporated ALL of us! 

I plan to share each of the rosaries and chaplets I have for sale in my Etsy store and tell you a little about the beads and thought behind the design.

I hope you enjoy each design as much as I enjoy making it.

God Bless!

Jen  :-)

Let Our Light Shine - Rosary and Chaplet Store using Vintage Beads