October: Come & Gone

I can't beleive that October has come & gone already. And all these blustery autumn days definately blew away the month of November as well. I mean it's half of the way through already. October was so busy for me, so my jewelry business definately suffered because of it (the promotional end), as you can see by the lack of updates. Seth and I tore up the nasty carpet & chipped tile in our apartment & put down wood laminate. Let me tell you something, it is not as easy as they make it look. Not only do you need a fancy saw, but you have to measure it right to cut the edges. And our apartment was extra fun because the room is not a perfect rectangle; both walls are bowed.

On top of renovating the floor it was my sister's sixteenth birthday & I have been planning her party for months now. I rented an American Legion hall to have it at. It was an Alice in Wonderland theme which was really very fun. My mom used to make centerpieces so she made these amazing 2d & 3d centerpieces of Alice, the Queen, White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat & some of the momewraths. They came out so good. We had a prize for the best costume. My mom (also an amazing seamstress) made my sister's gown which was the Queen of Hearts gown. It came out amazing. I'll have to add some photos. I cooked all the food for the party the night before. As you can tell, it was a tight budget. We did everything ourselves. I have a friend who did all the DJing. For the favors I found these Wilson glass bottles at AC Moore that we filled with neon nerds which went with the color theme. I have a scrap booking tag punch so I punched out little neon tags and wrote "drink me" on them just like Alice drank out of to grow & shrink in the story.

I have to thank all of my customers though because with out your purchases my sister wouldn't have been able to have a sweet 16 nor would I have been able to put in new flooring. I'll have to add some pictures to my blog so you can all get a feel for the party. It was definately not the most extravagent by far (definately not one of those super sweet 16's you see on MTV) but everyone kept saying how much fun they had and I know when my sister looks back on that night she will always remember it fondly. And we all know that's what it's all about.

Newbies

Oh I desperately need to go on a buying trip into the city. I have so many ideas for some hair clips using more vintage flowers. I used up all the flowers I bought last time. I have been busy creating (what else is new) but I haven't had as much time to take photos of my new stuff. However I did add a ton of new photos on my Facebook so you can check out the upcoming designs & check my shop for the new coming stuff.

To the right is a new ring I have added to my line (it'll be for sale in the shop shortly). It is raw brass that I aged to a rich vintage patina & then sealed with a nice matte finish. It reminds me of the artists at festivals that take silverware & bend it into jewelry hence the name; antiquated spoon.

Fall's Coming

Summer was great. We did a lot and were out a lot & I plan on having a great fall creating. Fall is my favorite season and I am sure that as the leaves turn from green to gold I will be inspired to create a lot of new jewelry. However for right now I need to catch up on all the new jewelry I made over the summer for fall already. I have a lot of photo editing ahead of me, but it's ok.

I am also excited to announce I will be working with Mekala from Tie That Binds Weddings on coordinating jewelry & wedding invites along with a lot of other goodies. She's a very talented graphic designer who has her own business on the side just like me! So we both have a lot in common. More to come on her business. In the meantime you should definately check out her website here, for some wedding inspiration or customer invites & so much more.

Little Girl's Hair Clips

I've been really busy trying to develope my children's line, Mademoiselle Parfait, a little bit more. I know times are tough & I am always keeping that in mind lately when I design. I always try to put myself in my customers' shoes and ask myself, "would I buy that?".

That being said I decided to add some festive & cute hair clips to my site. They're nothing more that super cute mostly plastic cabs that I have used epoxy to attach to various colored metal enamel bobby pins. The best part is they are so quick to make. I wish I had a little girl to put them up in her hair. I would have loved these hair accessories as a kid.

I need your feedback. Would you rather buy a cute set of bobby pins or would you rather a pair, or maybe even a single one by itself? I have a few of them listed in my shop. I have a few pairs & a few single ones. However the ones I have been working on this week are in small series. I have enchanted ones which include fairies, unicorns, magic mushrooms, castles, etc. Then I created this really cute set of party ones that includes balloons, gifts, cakes & party hats that would be a super fun & cute favor for a little girl's birthday party.

Let me know what you think. Single, Triple, Set or mixed. I appreciate your feedback!

Summer

I have to admit that designing has been on a summer hiatus. It's been so nice outside I can't begin to bear not being out there at the beach or spending time with family. I consider it a gathering of inspiration for the cold autumn days that are just around the bend. I have to say that one of my favorite things about living on Long Island is that we are privy to all 4 seasons. So just as you're beginning to get tired or weary of a season the next one is ready to roll right in.

I have found a great new supplier to buy lockets from & I am looking forward to spend some money on some great lockets to incorporate into some great new autumn designs. I am also ready to create the next new giveaway. So what would you like to see given away from my shop?

Frosty Flower Ring Giveaway *ENDED*

This ring is a favorite among all who have purchased one. Just a light simple ring to add the perfect feminine touch to any spring or summer outfit. The flower is made from frosted lucite which is another form of plastic but when I wear mine, people always think it is glass. The flower is secured on a antiqued brass adjustable band so one size fits most. If you know which finger you plan to wear your ring on & you know your size I will happily pre-size it for you.

I can offer two other colored pansy flowers. I have a light pink & a pale yellow available. To enter this giveaway just enter which color you would prefer along with your email address. The winner is selected from http://www.random.org/. This is a week long contest which means a winner will be drawn next Sunday at midnight EST.

To add extra entries for a higher chance of winning you can do any or all of the following:

1.Tweet about this conest on Twitter

2.Blog about this contest

3.Become a follower of this blog

4.Become a follower on Twitter

5.Become a fan on Facebook

Please leave a separate comment for each entry & post a link or username where necessary. I do check all Twitter & blog posts along with followers on both Facebook & Twitter before adding your comment. The winner will be drawn & posted on this blog entry next week. The winner has 24 hours to claim their prize otherwise another winner will be chosen. If you have any questions please send an email to heather@heatherlyjewelry.com

The winner according to random.org is Alexandria Franco. She has exactly 24 hours to claim her yellow flower ring by leaving a comment on this blog entry.

The Next BIG Thing

See them here first! Just out the workshop, the new big thing is HDJ...wait for it...cocktail rings! Seriously a HUGE fashion statement. Due to the fact that the welded bases are highly vintage there is a very limited number of these rings. I'm talking a limited edition of 22 in silver. I do have some in gold as well. These rings are hot & come in all different colors. They're vintage even down to the huge stones set in them that are from Germany & are from the 1940's.

Keep checking back at the shop for availability. They're not listed yet. If you would like to pre order one I can do that. Feedback would be nice. I would love to know what you think of them. They are blingy & I know that sounds cliche but what can I say? They're big & they sparkle. I have a silver one with the pastel AB stone in it and I have been rocking it for a week or two now & get so many compliments on it. They give real meaning to the term "show stopper".

Available in the following colors:

1. Aqua Blue


2. Pastel AB Rainbow


3. Ruby (shown above)


4. Fuchsia


5. Sapphire


6. Peridot


7. Light Sapphire


8. Crystal Diamond


9. Amethyst


10. Montana Sapphire

If you wanted to see what the other colors look like check out my facebook page. I have listed all of these rings in my Summer Designs '09 album. You can click here to view.

Busy Sunday

Today I had so many orders to catch up on. I am so glad I finished them all. I had two wholesale orders to get out for two of the boutiques I deal with. I was on a roll packaging my jewelry orders when I realized I ran out of jewelry boxes to package my orders in. So I have to run to my box supplier on my lunch break tomorrow and grab some more. I wanted to finish off the last of my shiny white swirl paper boxes because I can't stand looking at them any more. I think I am going to go with kraft paper this time around. I like the color & look of them and I think if I use my stamp on the front it will look nice.

New Website

After having my ownership of www.heatherlydesigns.com lapse and someone else snatch it up, I have come to terms with the fact that I may never own that name again. So I came to the conclusion that it was time to finally pick out a new domain. I posted a question on etsy's forums to see what fellow sellers thought of the different choices and time after time it was suggested to not go with www.heatherlydesigns.net. Everyone said people would forget the .net part and end up on the .com site (not me). I thought of doing www.heatherlydesign.com but that site is owned by a bed headboard company. So finally at about 12 in the morning I decided to go ahead and register www.heatherlyjewelry.com. For right now I have website forwarding set up so it takes you directly to my etsy shop. Pretty cool right?

So get in the habbit of going to www.heatherlyjewelry.com to buy your Heatherly Designs.

You're My Sunshine After the Rain

Today was the first day this week that I came home from work and it was sunny and nice out. Thank God! So me and Seth took our bikes out and took a little bike ride. We were only gone for about a half an hour but the wind in the face felt so nice. Poor Bella was so jealous. She wanted to come out with us and run. Too bad she is still a little to klutzy and I can't take her on the leash and ride. She runs right in front of the tire. So she stayed home and held down the fort.

I guess she decided to cozy down and snuggle and take a nap since we weren't there to terrorize. Look how sleepy she looks.

Yay for sunny days. :) On a side note I can't believe today we lost two amazing celebrities. I will say a prayer for Farrah Fawcet's family along with Michael Jackson's. Farrah fought a long & hard fight. MJ's was so sudden it's just not bearable. :(