21 Bracelets for 21 Bridesmaids

This week I had one of the biggest orders I've ever had from a beautiful Bride to Be!

She wanted 21 Heart Charm Bracelets for her 21 Bridesmaids, all in personalised gift boxes.

Making up an order of this size takes about 2-3 hours, and I find the most efficient way to pull it all together is to set up a production line, of course I have my trusty Lapdog Tray to help me out!

Preparations
First things first, getting the bracelets ready. All of my jewellery pieces are made by hand, as I build them to the customers specifications, so each bracelet needs building separately.

I lay out the pieces I need to build them and start putting them together; I tend to start with the clasps and the extension chains and drop to finish.

Then I lay out the chain and attach the pieces together to make the bracelets. This customer wanted them all standard sizing but I can make them in any length.

Personalising

Next, the charms. The customer tells me the initials that each bracelet needs to have, and I lay them all out with the shaped charms and start attaching them to the bracelets.

I then make the beads into charms. I use a simple rolled loop to secure the beads and add them to the bracelets.

Et Voila! 21 personalised bracelets all ready for packing!

Gift Boxes

The Bride-to-Be also asked for a Personalised Gift Box for each bracelet, so I got printing!

Packing

Then it's time to wrap them all up and get them to the post office. As this was a special order they got my special pink bags!

If you have a special order (or just want one!) then all of my jewellery is available on my Website, and selected lines are available in my Etsy Store.

Me and My Lapdog Tray!

My gorgeous fiancé bought me an amazing gift for my birthday last month; a new Lapdog!

Not a cute and lovable new pet; but a versatile crafting tray that sits comfortably in my lap. It’s no substitute for an actual dog, but it is an amazing product, and I don’t know how I ever lived without it!

The tag line is “The Craft Anywhere Tray”, which would be true as long as you weren’t leaving the country, the tray would definitely need its own suitcase!

When it arrived, it was a lot bigger than I expected it to be. At first I thought it was going to be too bulky, but when I filled it with my bits and pieces and actually started to use it, I realised that it needs to be the size that it is in order for it to function as a crafting tool.

The soft cushion is really comfortable, I can sit in front of the TV and watch my favourite shows whilst I make up orders. The plush velvet fabric on the bottom also means it doesn’t slide around, which is perfect for keeping my pesky beads in place!

The best thing about the tray is the storage compartments; and it’s really a credit to the designers as each compartment is useful and it all fits together so perfectly!

I’ve organised my supplies so I can make up my most popular pieces quickly, I keep my best selling charms on the left, namely my Big Sister Necklaces, and Bridesmaid and Flower Girl Jewellery.

On the display tray in the center, I keep the findings that I use for almost every piece of jewellery, and my glass pearl beads, so I can quickly access all of bits and bobs.

I keep my tools in the handy section on the right, I am forever putting them down and losing them so this is perfect for me!

The back section is ideal for storing my card inserts for my Birthstone Jewellery, I also keep my phone in this section, so I can read my messages and work through my Etsy orders.

I actually use one of the storage boxes for unusable materials and junk, I use the other one to store my finished pieces that are ready for packing.

If you want to order your own Lapdog Craft Tray, then visit their website here: http://www.lapdogtray.co.uk

Disclaimer: This blog post is the genuine opinion of the writer, in no way endorsed or sponsored by Main Street Crafts