Charm Bracelet Clasps – A History and Style Lesson Part II
Three more examples of bracelet clasps and a bit of description about them….
The top left is a watch chain with a fob fastener. These were used to attach men’s watches to their apparel in Victorian times. They were easily adapted to bracelet clasps, and the swivel mechanism on the clip is sturdy and works great.
Moving clockwise to the right the next 2 photos are a box clasp. These are very common on charm bracelets. A box clasp has two parts, the box and the tongue. When the tongue is inserted into the clasp it locks tightly. Often the push button release is made into the shape of a heart or shamrock, and there is a fold over bar and safety chain for added security.
And finally the last photo is a toggle clasp. One section of the toggle clasp is formed into a circle or other shape with an open center. The other side is a thick bar at the other end. When inserted into the circle the bar extends past the edge to hold the jewelry in place.
Toggle clasps are not as secure as clasps that have a lock-type closure.
I have a few more bracelet clasp descriptions and will be posting photos in a few days. Check back often charm bracelet trivia, history and updates.
Charmcrazey’s New Prince Charming Logo
This is fitzcharming. He’s my new logo graphic and I’ll be working on changing out all my internet and printed material in the next few days and weeks. Don’t you just LOVE him? He comes in many different poses so I believe he will be very versatile in my business. He’s sans charm bracelets at the moment but hopefully I’ll create a few baubles and beads to adorn him very soon. Welcome Fitz!
Fitzcharming is Now an “Expert” Ezine Author
I recently submitted a series of posts that I had written here on my blog last fall as an article to the ezine website for publication. I had to tidy it up a bit into an article format first but that was easy. The submission process was quite simple, first I registered for an account and then I answered a series of questions and typed the article into the space provided. There are specific rules and a format that must be followed and it helps to know a few basic html commands. Since that’s about what I know – a few basic commands, it was perfect for me.
Now as I understand it my article is kept on their website as a guide for, in my case, creating a special charm bracelet. I was allowed to put links to my blog and my new website in the signature block. I’m hoping that may help with traffic to my new Vendio store that I’m creating. Apparently other publications are allowed to copy my article as long as they give me credit. I believe this is referred to as part of the “long tail effect”.
Part of my process for distinguishing my brand is to put my business name out on the internet in as many respectable places as possible. As my friend and fellow ezine author Sally K would say, ‘Another “rock in the river” fixed, to let the flow happen!’
And the folks at ezine have given me credit as an “expert” author which is nice (disclaimer – there are people that know a lot more than me on this subject).
Click on over and read my expert advice if you are so inclined…. Ezine Article
One of My Favorite Charm Bracelets – “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere”
I wanted to share with you one of my very favorite charm bracelets I have ever assembled. I made it as a gift for a dear friend of mine that loves to enjoy a cocktail every now and again…. mostly again & again. The bracelet and all charms are 14K gold, and everything was purchased on the internet over a period of years. 
Charmchatter Starts Advertising
Greetings charmers worldwide! I’ve been very involved with my new job for the past couple of weeks and have neglected to do any blogging. I’ve not completely forgot about this little site I’ve got started here though. 
What sparked the advertising idea was a generous offer by Rachel Whitlow of Whitlow Unique Collectibles. She invited me to join the charming group of vintage sellers she features on her website http://whitlowuniquecollectibles.com. Some of my readers may know her from Twitter as VintageSeller. I was delighted and honored to receive her invitation. All I had to do was send her a logo to link to my on-line store and a widget featuring some of my items. Immediately I thought of my Charmcrazey Bonanzle Booth because the creators of Bonanzle have a nifty widget creating feature built right in. And I created a little fitzcharming banner button using my logo and the free Picnik photo editing program. It was so easy. So you can now find me on Ms Whitlow’s site in the Off Site Shops 1 category (scroll down the page a little bit to find me). Thank you Rachel.
Okay, I thought, now that I’ve got my handy dandy banner made, I hopped on over to Moomettesgram’ Musings, where I had been contemplating purchasing a banner ad for a while. Previously my main stumbling block I had with contacting Cindi, the author of the site, was finding a banner button in the 125 x 125 size. Now that I had easily created one, I just sent it to her and she linked that button to my CharmCrazey Ruby Lane site. Cindi is another Twitter friend that I’ve met who tweets under the name Moomettesgram. She’s got so much energy and wears several different blogging hats in addition to maintaining a full time job. Just look at the number of categories & pages on her site. Don’t know how she manages. She’s my hero.
And finally just yesterday I decided to join an online site directory called The Vintage List. This site is created and maintained by Mitzi, also known as vintagegoodness on Twitter. I love the graphics on her site. Her website tag line is “The Vintage List is a human edited directory of sites that will serve as your trusted guide to the best that the online vintage community has to offer.” I believe her. She personally reviews every submission for a strict list of quality standards. There’s a great bunch of vintage sellers there. I also used this venue to link to my Ruby Lane store.
I figured ebay has enough traffic, and is in a bit of turmoil these days so I am trying to ramp up the other stores, and I already link from this blog to my Bonanzle Booth. So Ruby Lane could use a double boost of publicity. Anyway please check out these websites and while you’re there visit the other participants. As I indicated before, I’ve found all of them through using Twitter, which I love. I find new contacts there every day and get most of my on-line selling news there. It’s a great invention and I’m hooked.
I hope to be back to steady blogging as soon as I get acclimated to my new work schedule, so check back regularly.
Back To Work At Darden Restaurants Support Center
Today is my last day of being solely an entrepreneur. I’ll be heading back to the corporate jungle in the morning as a senior tax analyst for Darden Restaurants. This job kind of fell into my lap and it’s an offer too good to refuse. Actually it’s a position that I had interviewed for about 5 years ago and I was not selected at the time.
Well as fate would have it I left Ernst & Young last year and was plugging along happily working at selling on-line and providing bookkeeping services to a few clients, although I admit, not really making a good living. I had high hopes and aspirations of growing my business and living a bohemian life, spending my days searching the far corners of the world (or at least Central Florida) for baubles and bangles to delight my customers.
Central Florida is a relatively small community when it comes to tax accountants. Most of us either have worked together sometime in the past or at least know of each other. Word travels fast and one of my former colleagues from back in the day at EY found out I wasn’t working and called me up with a proposition at Darden. Within a week I had interveiwed, taken a bunch of evaluations, and had accepted an offer. It’s very exciting and although I’m sad that I didn’t give my business a fair shot, I’m happy to be going back to work, especially at Darden.
I’m not throwing in the towel with respect to my ebay, Bonanzle, and Ruby Lane vintage jewelry web stores though. That is what I truly love to do and I’m going to continue to stock my sites with the most unique and desirable treasures I’m able to scout. I’ll be scaling back a bit at first, until I get adjusted in my new routine, but I’ll still be around in the evenings and on weekends to answer emails, and pack orders & such. I’m looking forward to this new adventure in my life. Cheers to full time employment and a full time paycheck!
