Chainmaille Tutorials on Etsy

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50+ Patterns & Instructions by Blue Buddha Now On Our Etsy Shop!

chainmail patterns by Rebeca MojicaThis week I added several tutorials to Blue Buddha’s Etsy shop, bringing the total number of B3 chainmaille patterns available for sale to more than 50. Woo-hoo! Shorter tutorials as well as patterns that were formerly in our sale section have also been priced accordingly; you’ll notice they range from $1.95 – $5.95 instead of our standard $6.95.

I still have about 20 more tutorials to add (some of which need a bit of cleaning up/updating before I add them). Plus, a brand new tutorial for my Pirouette weave will be out in August or September (after I teach the weave at Bead Fest).

And, in other news, I’ll be doing a couple giveaways in the next few months, finally writing that blog post of recommended suppliers, bringing back some of the stats/uses/info pages formerly found on B3’s website, and creating a Rebeca Mojica jewelry shop on Etsy. So stay tuned! (Sorry for the massive delay with all of these updates…I’ve had my hands full with moving/unpacking and still tying up loose ends from the first era of Blue Buddha. Thank you for your patience!)

If there’s a project you’d like to see me add to our Etsy shop, or any weave you’d like to see me make a tutorial/video for, please leave a comment below!

New Chainmaille Tattoo: Perfect Combination of Beauty and Bad-Assery!

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Colorful Pendant Inked On My Shoulder

About a month ago, as Blue Buddha’s operations were winding down, I finally decided to get the chainmaille tattoo I’d wanted for, like ever. I thought it would be a nice way to commemorate what we accomplished in 13 years of being in business. Plus, I had a gift certificate from Insight Studios that I’d won in a raffle that I wanted to use before I moved away from Chicago. :-)

Originally I wanted a chainmaille bracelet of Rondo a la Byzantine, arguably my most well-known design. (Seriously, I’m kind of in awe of all the Rondo a la Byzantine bracelets for sale on Etsy at any given time!) However after consulting with tattoo artist Ryan Gutekunst, I decided to go with a bigger piece that would wear better over time. The Quantum Rose pendant is one of my signature pieces, and it had been on the Blue Buddha buttons and business cards, so it seemed appropriate to use that design.

And that’s how this mega-huge gauge, colorful version of one of my best-selling pieces came to be!

chainmaille shoulder tattoo
I’m so pleased with the result. When I saw the first post-tattoo photo of my upper body, I had the feeling that the tattoo had been there for years, like it was always a part of me. I love that I was able to bring this chapter of my life to a close with this image. And, heh, I’m already planning my next chainmaille tattoo. :-)

Do you have a chainamille/jewelry tattoo, or have you seen one that you like? Leave a comment, tag @aerobeca on Instagram, or shoot me an email at [email protected] with a link.

colorful quantum rose chain mail tattoo

 

Relocated & Taking A Bit of A Break

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On Hiatus, But Not Gone!

empty-studioThe dust has settled at Blue Buddha. All orders have long shipped. Our final liquidation and clearance sales are over… and the studio is empty.

I’m still checking customer care emails about once every day or so, because I know there are still some lingering questions about orders (and some overseas customers have yet to receive their final order).

Other than that, though, I’m taking a bit of a hiatus.

I relocated to Los Angeles the last week of April (though it’ll be another week or so before my stuff arrives). I plan on taking most of May to settle into my new home, tie up some loose ends from Blue Buddha … and figure out what the heck is next.

Quite a different view than I've been used to for the past 40 years of my life. And I love it!

Quite a different view than I’ve been used to for the past 40 years. And I love it!

Summer Projects

OK, to be honest, I’ve already know what’s next, or at least, immediately next. I’m working with some folks back in Chicago on a project that I’m VERY excited about. As I’m allowed to reveal details, I definitely will. (It’ll be several months at least, though, before you’ll hear me make more than a peep about it. We’re waiting for a BIG reveal!)

Once June rolls around, I’ll be updating rebecamojica.com with my current inventory and possibly creating an Etsy page for my jewelry. I have lots of sale items (including precious metal pieces) which I’d like to photograph and put online.

I’ll also reach out to other jump ring suppliers who expressed an interest in working with me on various tutorials, videos, designs and other projects. I’m super excited about collaborations and partnerships not just in the chainmaille industry but also in the general jewelry and crafts world. And yes, I’ll finally sort through all the product samples I bought from other vendors so I can create a list of recommended suppliers.

Essentially, I’m writing this post so you know that you haven’t heard the last of me, even if I wind up being pretty quiet for the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to taking a MUCH needed break and refreshing my creative soul so I can come back better than ever.

See you soon!

P.S. My older cat is already quite comfortable with his new digs. I should take some lessons from him on how to take a break, as clearly he has perfected this skill… heh.

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Furniture Liquidation! Everything Must Go – 3 Days of Amazing Cash & Carry Deals

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Thursday April 21 – Saturday April 23

carousel-furniture-liquidation-FBWe’re vacating our space at the end of the month and have many desks, tables, shelving units and other odds and ends to unload. (By odds and ends, we mean everything from cloth white napkins to party decorations to office supplies to coffee makers to a refrigerator and more. It’s like everything but the kitchen sink!) Plus a few random bits of jewelry supplies and tools.

Come on in for our special week of sales starting Thursday April 21 at noon, with progressive discounts all week. Cash and carry only. Some desks (like our standing workstation for shipping) are quite large and you’ll need a van or truck to cart them away.

Thursday – noon – 6 pm – 50% off

Friday – noon – 6 pm – 70% off

Saturday
10 am – 11 am – V.I.P. SHOPPING (Invite only!*)
11 am – 1 pm – 90% off
1 pm – 2 pm – FREE

Yes, from 1-2 pm on Saturday,
everything we have left is free!

Come take everything away! Tips graciously accepted.  Also, we trust that you’ll be civil adults and not knock people over to get to something you want, ‘kay? Be cool ya’ll, be cool. :-)

*Invitations are reserved for our top customers. You’ve supported us all these years; you deserve first dibs at cheap stuff. :-)  You must show your invitation at the door, either a printed up copy of your email invite, or a digital copy pulled up on your phone/tablet.
Photos of some items are posted to our Liquidation Album on Facebook.

 

Oversold! Oh no!

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Expect Refunds For Many Recent Orders Due to Glitch

We’re not quite sure what happened in our system, but we oversold on many, many items during our final clearance sale. :-(  (Like, 50 jars of tool magic for example… Oy)

We’ve been shipping out 100+ orders every day for the past couple weeks, and today we only shipped out 15 because of all the oversold items. We decided to keep Aimee, our customer care gal, on for a few extra days to handle all the refunds we need to issue.

We’re so sorry to disappoint you. Trust us, we aren’t happy either to have to spend days issuing refunds when we’re trying to clean up and vacate our space. We will through all the refunds, it might just take a bit of time. Sorry for the delay and confusion.