How to Clean Sterling Silver Jewelry

Ah, silver. Gorgeous - when it's clean, and free of tarnish. Unless of course the piece of jewelry is made with oxidized silver, like the earrings below from five forty on Etsy


But what can you do when your bright and shiny silver is dull, and black?

Clean it with baking soda, a piece of aluminum foil, and boiling water! It's simple and organic.

1. line a container, a vessel that is deep enough for the jewelry to be completely covered by water, with aluminum foil

2. sprinkle baking soda over the jewelry

3. pour boiling water over the jewelry, so that the pieces are completely submerged - bubbling will occur

4. use a wooden or plastic utensil to gently stir the solution, and ensure that all silver surfaces come in contact with the aluminum.

5. rinse the jewelry under tap water (don't lose any pieces down the drain!) and blot dry with an absorbent cloth

6. polish with a soft cloth. Voila!

This method of cleaning is recommended only for jewelry that is all sterling silver and those that incorporate plastic, glass or crystal beads. Some gemstones are affected by the baking soda reaction, for example, turquoise.

Chocolate Dip Sterling Silver Earrings from Emms gEM's on Etsy

You Can Wear it All!

Turquoise shell beads for the glam in you...rustic Robbles wood wedges for the nature in you

you should have some!

I am hooked on making bracelets, in particular chunky bracelets.


It must have something to do with the season, and our change of clothing. We find ourselves shortening our sleeves, or even taking our sleeves right off! A perfect canvas is exposed (even behind a billowing 3/4 sleeve) for showcasing a fantastic bracelet!

Pattern. Chunky. Wood. Funky. Colour.

In particular (but not exclusively) I have been making bracelets on a clear stretchy cord (from what I have seen, and tried, this cording makes the most inconspicuous and tight knots). The great thing about stretchy bracelets is that they are so easy to slide on (no fiddling with clasps or toggles!) and they don't slide too much around your wrist...making it easier to sip your fave summer drink!

Enjoy!

have you been here?

Have you been to icraft.ca ?

icraft is a Canadian venture, similar to Etsy...where you can buy emmsgems in Canadian dollars! Okay, you can buy a lot more than just emmsgems, and you can buy in other currencies too.

Check out iCraft!

Be sure to visit my creator exhibit: emmsgems

A New Piece

A NEW PIECE for emmsgems!

Be sure to read the story behind this "Ghost" of a gEM!

I foresee some matching earrings in the near future...

I love the red beads in this necklace! They have a matte finish, are extremely light weight, and are made from the Buri nut...which come from the Buri Palm tree in the Philippines. Beads aren't the only thing made from parts of the Buri tree. The trunk is used as a source of flour, and the palms are used to make hats!

after Christmas...

Christmas is over, so that can only mean one thing...Valentine's Day is up next! I didn't hop on a "need to make Christmas product binge", but today, I began making PINK items!

I have started a Valentine's Day product launch and didn't even realize it. I was tidying up, and I found a stash of pink beads from a Breast Cancer Fundraiser that I donated to last year, and decided that I should make some PINK items.

Pink isn't usually in my repertoire, but I have to say, these sterling and pink earrings are pretty!

They will show up in my Etsy shop in a few days.

Sale on Turquoise!

It's hard to think of an original sale idea for Etsy...

But I just came up with this one on my own:

10% off all turquoise PLUS an extra .09 cents off to celebrate the new year!

I will be adding more turquoise pieces throughout the duration of the sale (which ends on January 10, 2009)

a "wow" moment

I love it when I create a gEM's piece that makes me say, "Wow!" This is my latest "wow":

This is an unofficial photo - properly presented photos will follow in my Etsy shop!

This piece defies the customary colour combinations - admittedly, it is more of a trendy piece, than an heirloom! If you are a "silver girl" like I am, you'll know what I mean!

Now comes the hard part: deciding to sell it, as opposed to keeping it for myself; deciding how much to sell it for. I don't have a hard and fast rule for pricing my jewelry, and it is especially difficult when a piece, such as this bracelet, is unlike any others that I currently have for sale.

Sometimes I rely on the help of C-Dazzle...*hint hint*

It was pointed out to me recently that some of my Etsy shop pieces are priced "too fair". I hear this often in person-to-person sales as well. I find it hard to believe that sometimes if the price is too low, it will not sell. Putting a price on my time has always seemed foreign to me...it isn't as if I was forced to create.

Christmas feeling

What an awesome feeling it is to be part of a stranger's Christmas!

I had a purchase in my Etsy shop the other day, from a new gEM's buyer! In her "Message to Seller" she asked if I could wrap the necklace she purchased, and add a gift tag with specific names on it. I was thrilled to do such a thing!

I know that many shops offer free gift wrap, some shops sell a "Gift Wrap" option, and some, like myself, wrap the gift no matter what, and don't say a word about it! But in my shop, I haven't promoted any kind of "Holiday" shopping, or deals. I simply haven't had the energy or stock. So when this recent buyer asked for it, I was thrilled, and happy to oblige!

The gift is being sent directly to the "giftee", from my house, not from the "gifter". It's so sneaky and surprise-y...I love it!

***FYI*** emmsgems come wrapped in turquoise tissue paper, and are slipped in to a silver drawstring pouch!