Favorite Customers, longtime Cubs fans Bob and Diane and the Baseball Necklace

Favorite Customers, longtime Cubs fans Bob and daughter Diane wearing her Tribute to Baseball Necklace in 4th of July colors

Over the years I've been blessed with some very special customers. Legendary Cubs #1 and #2 Fans Bob and his lovely daughter Diane are two of my very favorites. I first "met" Diane when she sent me an email asking questions about my making a customized baseball necklace for her in Cub's 4th of July team colors with a specific "fake" autograph on the miniature bat that comes with the necklace. She went on to tell me a bit of the story behind her desire for the necklace. She said that her dad, who has recently celebrated his 80th birthday, had "brainwashed" her as toddler and they have shared a passion for major league baseball (specifically for the Cubs) for her entire lifetime. I think their story is so special I wanted to share it with my readers. I'm so honored that my necklace is a small part of their ongoing celebration together of the Cubs and of Life.

She wanted the "fake" signature on the bat to read "Phil Cavarretta", his favorite player growing up. She wrote,
"I was initially going to get Ron Santo’s name, but then remembered my dad telling a story about writing Phil Cavarretta’s name on his ball glove as a child and trying to convince his friends he had gotten his autograph.......but he had spelled Cavarretta's name wrong!"

Diane and husband Steve at a Cub's game. Diane says, "Steve, who is a saint, and very tolerant of me and my love for the Cubs."

Diane and her dad frequently watch the Cubs games together on TV. She attends many games in person and they have made plans to attend a game this fall together with his 80 year old lifelong buddy, Dale.

This fabulous life sized, wooden, painted replica of Bob as a Cub's fan was created and given to him as a gift by Bob's very good friend and talented colleague, art teacher Pete, on the occasion of Bob's retirement. Bob and his family call it "Bob Crow" and it was used for years in Bob's garden to scare away the birds. Now it's a treasured family heirloom. 

The photo below shows Diane and Cub's owner, Tom Ricketts, during a game. As she was leaving the game and was on the phone talking to her dad she saw Tom again and he didn’t miss a beat when she asked, “would you mind saying hi to my 80 year old dad” He reached for her phone (Cubs phone cover OF COURSE) : ) and said “sure, what is his name” and proceeded to talk to her Dad for over 5 minutes. What a guy! What a team! What super fans!

Diane and friend Carol in Wrigleyville after a cold April game.

(edited: Necklace no longer available) Our "handmade from scratch" Patriotic 4th of July colored baseball necklace is available with beads in most colors as well as matching spiral baseball earrings at MelodyODesigns

The value of Listening to Customers (and the customized softball jewelry market)

Listening to Customers can sure be well worth the time and effort! Earlier this year I designed a collection of baseball jewelry and softball jewelry with the "hook" that they could be special ordered with most colors of beads on the beaded chain and a fake scribbled player's "signature" to make them unique.

As I mentioned in a previous post on the softball jewelry, it was originally a softball mom who saw my baseball necklace and asked me if I could make a softball necklace version (i.e., 25% larger with Dayglo yellow softballs) who was responsible for inspiring me to design the softball collection.

Recently a prospective customer contacted me looking for an "economy version" of the softball necklace, something that would be affordable for the tweens/teens on their teams. That's how the new softball pendant necklace version came about. Then a prospective customer got in touch with me wanting to know if the softball pendant necklace could have his daughter's name written on it instead of the fake brand name I had used on the bat. I said, "sure, GREAT IDEA, thanks!" The very next day another prospective customer from a different selling venue contacted me wanting to know if a team name could be written on the bat instead.

Light bulb moments! People seem to like customized items with names, especially when they are to be given as gifts........and I think particularly if a child/teen is involved. There appears to be a market and it's not that hard to do with my trusty Sakura MicroPerm pen. No brainer, so I edited the softball listings at my shops to reflect the customized personal name or team name option for the bat.

I'm so grateful for the creativity and imagination that my customers share with me. THANKS!

Softball bats under construction

Varnished Softball bats on drying rack

The items in the baseball and softball jewelry collections are all available for sale at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

Diamondbacks Baseball Necklace and Microperm pens for writing on / signing Polymer Clay

My husband and I are staunch Arizona Diamondbacks baseball fans. Last February, in honor of the opening of Major League Baseball, I had designed a baseball necklace out of polymer clay for me to wear to show my true colors, complete with fake pretend "autographed" bat, glove and dangling baseballs. The team colors for the Diamondbacks are Sedona red, sand and black. Sedona red is the color of the red rock of Sedona and alas, neither it nor sand are colors that are commonly available in beads. I was unable to locate any appropriate beads and didn't relish the labor intensive work of making my own, so I didn't make a "tribute to the Diamondbacks" necklace.

However, I kept looking online and one day I found Trash City, a wonderful wholesale bead company in Phoenix who had limestone beads that had been commercially dyed in colors similar to the Diamondbacks' team colors....... courtesy of Trash City owners, Chris and Jim McLennan who are avid  Diamondbacks fan. Eureka!

One of the technically challenging aspects of creating the bat was that I wanted to make a teeny realistic bat logo as well as making a signed pretend faux autograph on the tiny 2 3/4 inch bat.

I needed a black pen to write on the bat; something permanent on polymer clay and capable of writing tiny legible letters. I ended up using a black Microperm by Sakura (01 thinner, 03 thicker, 05 thickest sizes) from Markers Supply. I've been using the thickest tipped version (05) of this pen to sign the back of some of my pieces for several years. It has held up well over time and I've been very pleased with the choice. I highly recommend it for signing cured polymer clay pieces. There have been a few time when I've made an oops on the signature and immediately tried to remove the ink with alcohol. It's so permanent that, though the alcohol did cause the ink to fade a little, I ended up having to sand it off and start over. That's PERMANENT!

FYI I have found that the somewhat similar Pigma Micron COLORED pens by Sakura do not hold up nearly as well unless heat cured and gently sealed.

To read a blog post on making my neon yellow softball jewelry

Dangling Baseball Pierced Earrings are available at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

Baseball Necklace from polymer clay for MLB Opening Day 2013

"Tribute to Baseball" necklace"

I originally designed the prototype for this new baseball, bat and glove necklace many years ago to wear to a baseball game when the symphony orchestra I performed with was invited to play at a game (complete with Fireworks and the "1812 Overture"). The team colors were red, white and blue, so I made the necklace to jazz up my regular boring black and white summer concert attire (and managed to sneak it by the management dress code enforcer!!!). 

I've continued to wear the necklace over the years and whenever I do it gets a lot of attention.  I decided that this baseball season it would be fun to put an updated version into production to sell at my online shops. The bat, mitt and balls are all made from artist quality polymer clay. The sand colored bat is designed to be a mini reproduction of a model 125 Louisville Slugger and the ash wood grain is drawn on with a light umber Prismacolor pencil, made permanent with a light coat of matte indoor use Varathane varnish. The bat is faux "autographed" by my favorite player and can be special ordered with the "autograph" of the customer's favorite player. The bat logos and autograph are added with Sakura Microperm black pens in 01(thinnest), 03 and 05 (thickest) pen tip sizes .

The brown glove is molded and then antiqued with burnt umber Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic paint, most of which is rubbed off with T shirt jersey material. 

The baseballs are hand rolled from the new whiter PREMO white clay. Once cured, the tiny characteristic "V" stitching is applied by hand with a 01 red Sakura Pigma Micron pen........with my nose resting on a stationary magnifier. The archival ink from the Micron pens is prone to smearing until it's VERY dry, so I hastened the drying process by heat curing the balls in the oven at 200F. for 10 minutes. Then it was further sealed with a very light coat of matte Varathane varnish that was also heat cured for 10 minutes at 200F.   One of the features of the necklace that I really love is that the baseballs are mounted on spirals of golden wire that allow them to dangle freely creating eye catching motion as the wearer moves about.

(Edited: No LONGER AVAILABLE):  I thought would be a nice feature to offer the necklace in a Custom Order format where the customer can choose the colors of the necklace beads. It's a great way let people know that you are baseball fan and it's a conversation piece that's bound to attract attention. They also make unique and special gifts for fans.

This Black and Orange version .

The Red, Navy Blue and White version.

The Navy/Midnight Blue and White version.

This 4th of July colored version also makes a very Patriotic necklace to wear for ANY occasion.

Baseball earring complete the homage to baseball/softball and and now we're all ready for Major League Baseball's opening day, March 31, 2013.

Please click here for my blog post on the Arizona Diamondbacks version of the baseball necklace I designed for myself as a tribute to the team (my home state team). For a blog post on the making of the neon yellow softball necklace

Baseball Necklace made from Polymer Clay in "PolymerCAFE" magazine

Baseball necklace complete with tiny handmade bat, glove, and dangling baseballs complete with red stitching.

I originally designed this baseball, bat and glove necklace to wear to a baseball game when the symphony orchestra I played in was invited to perform at a game (complete with Fireworks and the "1812 Overture"). The team colors were red, white and blue, so I made this necklace to jazz up my regular boring black and white summer concert attire. The team colors were red, white and blue, so I made the necklace to jazz up my regular boring black and white summer concert attire (and managed to sneak it by the management dress code enforcer!!!). 

The baseball equipment is all made from  polymer clay. The mitt was adapted from a Sculpey “My Sports” mold. I sculpted the ball and bat (complete with stitching) and then made molds. The ball stitching was carefully antiqued in red acrylic paint. The cured bat and mitt were antiqued with burnt umber acrylic paint. Thin coiled wire was used to give a sense of movement to the baseballs as they dangle freely. It's such a fun necklace to wear and I especially enjoy the movement of the dangling baseballs.

I plan on offering copies of the necklace for sale by February 25, 2013, just a tad late for the first day of spring training, but perfect for opening day of the MLB baseball season. I have the supplies on hand so that customers can special order the bead chain in the colors of their favorite team. Please visit my shop at MelodyODesigns at  Etsy

"PolymerCAFE" magazine chose this necklace as the 4th place winner in its Red, White, and Blue Challenge in the May 2010 issue (Vol.8 No.4)

Please click on the link to access more recent blog posts on my baseball and softball jewelry:

Baseball necklace and earrings in honor of the opening of MLB spring 2013

Softball Necklace and earrings and spotting a niche market

Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Necklace and earrings