Heatherly Designs

Jewelry Party Part Uno

2012-01-29T23:50:00.000-05:00

I spent my entire weekend getting ready for my first jewelry party. I can't believe I have been making & selling my jewelry for almost a decade and this is the first party I'm doing! I've done more shows, fairs & festivals than I care to recall but I am still super nervous. I have a bunch of jewelry to bring but I still keep obsessing about whether I am bringing enough. Right now, everything...and I do mean everything is set up on my kitchen table. The more I think about it the more things I remember I ~~have~~ want to bring.

Once I have this under my belt, doing them in the future will be a lot easier & less stressful. I am still not sure if I am going to play any games or not. I have been doing some research on the web for jewelry party games that I can do without having a business like Lia Sophia or another franchise. I found a few really great suggestions, see below.

Celebrity Jewelry Game - basically someone said they cut celeb pix out of a magazine and laminated them. Everyone gets a photo & they have to select jewelry of yours they would see this celeb wearing. Then everyone votes for the best answers & the winner gets a prize. I am considering playing this game but we'll see.

Memory - this game consists of me picking a few pieces of jewelry and showcasing them. Then I hide them & the guests have to write down as many as they remember. Whomever remembers the most, wins a prize.

I think I am going to do a raffle where for every piece of jewelry someone gets, they get a raffle ticket & then I do a drawing at the end of the night. Hopefully enough people show up for me to do this. I'll let everyone know how this turns out.

The last thing I am freaking out about is pricing. All of my jewelry is on my website & 99% of the jewelry I make at this point is made to order. To sit & put a price tag on everything would be a huge waste of time. I was thinking of printing out all of my listings & making a catalog...I really hope I find the time this week to finish this otherwise I know when it comes to pricing there is going to be a huge issue that will effect my sales. I am also not going to be sending people home with their jewelry. I am going to be taking orders just like I would if I was running one of those franchise jewelry parties. We'll see how that goes. There's only one way to learn which way works best for this & that's experimentation!

Time Suck Websites

2012-01-27T00:03:00.001-05:00

They should create a support group for those of us addicted to Pinterest.com. Going onto that site is like a huge time suck. I have every intention of briefly checking to see what genius new money saving/cooking/decorating ideas these work & stay at home moms have come up with & before I know it, it's 2 in the morning & my eyes are burning. I would be surprised if I still have fingerprints because my fingertips are probably so worn down from all my mad 'pinning'!

Which brings me to this. Guess where I found it? If you say Pinterest, you win (not like a real prize or anything). Thanks to that website I don't even own a home or have children yet but I know exactly how I'm going to decorate my house & I have the first 10 years of my children's lives planned out in parties & clothing & crafts. But really, if you haven't checked this site out, you totally should. It's grrrrreat!

So tell me, are there any other websites out there as great as this that I should know about? Do tell.

'Tis the Season & All That

2011-12-18T01:54:00.001-05:00


Don't mind the decorations...I stalled clean through from Fall to Winter :)

So today rather than getting my apartment cleaned, laundry done, cookies baked, Christmas shopping done & gift wrapping started I filled orders & worked on a little furniture project. I think I learned my lesson for the last time. I don't like to keep stock on items unless they're a big seller because frankly, I don't have the room & why am I going to make a ton of something when I can have it made to order? I mean, I am a procrastinator & I would much rather be able to customize it at the original time of creation. That being said, I screwed myself because today was mostly spent working...as if I don't already work 40 hours a week. But I digress. In the last few days I also was introduced to Pinterest.com by my good friend Alexandria (although I am reevaluating that friendship due to all the time I spend on this site now...jk, I love my Alex).

So at any rate, I told myself...no promised, I promised myself I was going to get my shelf painted. I have had this ugly green set of drawers sitting in the middle of my dining/living room/kitchen for over a month now & it needed to get painted so I could find a home for it. And by home, I mean a spot in my own home. Well originally I was going to go for he shabby chic thing (shocker, I know) but I couldn't find my famous ivory & gold crackle spray paint kit anywhere...wah wah wahhhhh. So I had to go with something sleek. I figure it works since right now the apartment has a sleek, bachelor-pad-esque couch going on (the price & size was right). So it goes...for now...until we get a house. Anywho, I figured I would share with you the 'before' & 'after' of my little storage place where all my new supplies will be neatly put away. It was a true 'trash to treasure' example. With a can of $4 matte spray paint & 5 new acrylic (fooled ya, you thought they were glass!) knobs for $4 each, I have a new, snazzy piece-o-crap turned piece-o-furniture for $24...not bad, not bad.

I would also like to add that it took me all of maybe 45 minutes from start to finish. I buffed the paint with my sander ($35 at Sears, best investment to date), and painted it with 1 can of spray paint, let it dry, went over & touched up spots I missed, let it dry & put on the knobs. I would also like to add that it was pitch black outside when I did this so I used my cell phone's flash light app. It had to be done. I told myself I would have it done by Christmas & this was my last chance!

Darker Days

2011-11-13T19:20:00.000-05:00

Can it really be? Summer was here & now it's gone, almost like a magic trick. I always make all these great leisurely plans for the summer months and they never seem to work out quite like I planned. Shorter days do means a few good things though because with more time spent in doors, that means more time spent doing some of my favorite things...baking, cooking, reading, organizing & designing! And while people spend all summer trying to come up with great fall jewelry designs, I am already looking forward to spring!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-09-08T20:28:00.000-04:00

Today as I wasted away my afternoon (which slowly turned into my day) in the doctor's office waiting room, I was able to read an entire issue of Woman's Day. They had a few interesting tips in there for decorating for the fall that I wanted to share.

I really enjoy pumpkin picking out on the east end. The way I judge if a pumpkin is what I'm looking for is if it has a nice stem. If it's unique and especially if it has a few curly q's then I'm sold. But we spend so much money pumpkin picking just to carve them & have them rot in a week or 2. So as I was reading in Woman's Day they said to do the following to preserve your jack-o'-lantern;

Mix 1 tbsp. bleach & 1 qt. water and wipe down the outside of the pumpkin & the inside after it's been cleaned out. This kills decay causing bacteria. After you have carved your pumpkin, use the same mixture to wipe the cut surfaces and then seal with petroleum jelly.

I plan to give this a try. If you decide to try it, let me know how it works out.

Beachy-keen Weekend (& a recipe)

2011-07-24T23:30:00.001-04:00

Roasted chicken thighs, potato salad with a slant & some red wine.

I spent my weekend in a rented beach cottage on the north shore with some of my buddies. One of our friends is getting married next month and it was our bachelorette weekend out. After spending the day at the beach I made some chicken and salad because it was so hot out & it came out so good I figured I would share the recipe with you here. And it is pretty healthy. The only fats are olive oil & goat cheese (but they're healthy 'fats').

I made a great sangria I found & will share the recipe for that. That was a very enjoyable beach drink.The chicken was just 2 packages of chicken thighs (with skin & bones). You don't have to eat the skin, personally I am not a fan (it skeeves me out) but you want it on there when you cook it because it keeps it very moist & juicy & adds flavor. I rinsed the chicken & let it marinate in soy sauce, honey & garlic. Pour the marinade into a deep baking pan, put the thighs skin side up and bake at 375 for 45 minutes. The meat falls off the bones.

The salad I used fresh spinach, laid it out on a plate. I boiled red potatoes (scrubbed clean) for 16 minutes in salter water, rinsed cool & cut into quarters. Then I mixed together 1/2 c. olive oil, 1/4 c. red wine vinegar, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard & 1/4 c. goat cheese (you can use crumbled blue cheese if you want). I threw the red potatoes on the grill 4 minutes on each side & they go on the spinach. Then spoon the dressing on top & garnish with some chives. It looks pretty & when I made the leftovers for my husband he said, "it's like a party in my mouth" so that means it gained his approval. If you try it, let me know what you think. I also can't take credit for these recipes although I wish I could. My boss is an amazing cook and she has made these before at her beach house.

Functional Decorations

2011-07-19T23:44:00.001-04:00

"Royally Chic" necklace display by Etsy artist & shop owner Audra of AChicShop

When you're not wearing your favorite costume jewelry out & about, there is another place to hang it. Why stuff it in a dark drawer in your jewelry box when you can have it out and about where everyone can see how fashion forward you are? It seems these days jewelry display in the home is all the rage. I know I have my jewelry draped all over my room and that is not just because I am a jewelry designer...I just love looking at it! I am not just talking about my designs, I am talking about my whole jewelry collection. You can decorate yourself with jewelry & decorate your bedroom.

I have a serious love for all things country french, shabby chic and vintage looking (not retro, mod vintage...worn shabby vintage). So that is what I am so in love with glass or crystal knobs. My grandmother's house had crystal glass knobs on all the door and I really thought it was such a nice touch. I mean, it looked so classy and glamorous. When I was recently in TJ Maxx (fave store) or Marshals...I can't remember which one, I spotted a bag of small crystal glass knobs for a dresser or cabinet. Now I don't currently have any projects going on but I fell in love and bought them. Which is why I recommend checking out this shop on etsy. Her name is Audra (cool name right), her shop is called A Chic Shop and she sells super cute knob necklace and headband hangers at a really reasonable price. She has so many different designs and her shop is open for custom orders. Just click the link (after you have signed into Etsy of course) that says, "request custom item" & give her the details of what you're looking for.

Buyer BEWARE!

2011-07-15T00:25:00.007-04:00

Well today I had an awful experience buying from Etsy seller evezbeadz. Apparently it is not cool to ask about the legitimacy of items in her shop. Sorry if I find it hard to believe that you're selling genuine Juicy charms for $6.00 but I doubt the nasty messages were really necessary. Shame on your for having such a violent temper. It's unprofessional and I did not appreciate it. Shame shame shame.

This is just a warning for my fellow jewelry designers, beware of this shop. You might want to take your business elsewhere. Just looking out for all my fellow artists!

--UPDATE 7/15/11--

I just checked my Paypal and she only refunded me 80% of the money for my order and kept 20% as a "fee". She then wrote to "check her store policies", which she had updated that same day (Etsy puts the date of updates on the bottom of a policy page) to say she charges $1 "fee" for every $5 spent. Umm I am pretty sure Paypal doesn't allow that. Etsy refunds your fees and so does Paypal so what exactly is this fee for? By the way she canceled my sale, not me.

I'm protected. After some research I knew she couldn't do this to me. Under Etsy's Dos and DON'Ts it says under Transaction Cancellation: "The seller has refused service to the buyer (see Refusing service). If the buyer has already paid, the seller has refunded the buyer (price paid for item plus shipping)."

:) Always do your homework. I'll let you know how it turns out.

--UPDATE 7/24/11--

I have now, finally, after putting in a claim with Paypal, received my FULL refund.

Neglect

2011-06-13T20:53:00.002-04:00

They say when you have more than one etsy shop, you always take turns favoring one and the others suffer. I have found lately that this is true. I have been trying so hard to get the Findings Fix shop up and running and pulling its own that poor Heatherly and Mademoiselle Parfait have totally been neglected. This is a shame because I didn't stop creating new stuff or even photographing it. But I did fall off on the photo cropping and description writing and listing of new items. This means that hopefully over the next few weeks, I'll get to play catch up and you, you will get to see the last few months collection of goodies all at once.

Edible You Say?

2011-05-08T20:12:00.001-04:00

When I was doing research for my DIY wedding I came across this wonderful fellow Etsy seller. The funny thing was, at the time, I wasn't even looking for edible cake decorations. After doing a search on etsy for autumn wedding ideas I came across these amazing fall foliage sugar leaves. I can't imagine the patience or talent required to come up with these amazing confections. Who ever knew food could look this good?!

I recommend you check out Andie's Specialty Sweets & see what amazing things they have for all you fellow DIY dessert makers.Some of the items they have for sale you'll do a double take because you won't be able to believe they are actually edible. Like these flowers! They look no different than the hair fascinators you see being sold all over.

Tax Return Investment

2011-05-01T15:23:00.000-04:00

How many of you get excited when tax return season rolls around? I know I do. I am trying to get my new jewelry venture off the ground with my etsy shop I opened this spring; Findings Fix. I took some of that wonderful tax return money & decided to invest it in this new venture. I am trying to decide whether to have a youtube channel where I show how to make some of my favorite jewelry pieces using the supplies I have in my shop. I just feel like there are so many jewelry making channels I am going to have to come up with something really different.

What do you think of that? I'd love to hear back from you!

Jewelry & You

2011-04-01T23:06:00.000-04:00

When you're leaving the house after you've gotten ready in the morning, what is it that you can't walk out that door without wearing? We all have our staple jewelry. Just wonderin' what YOURS is.

Take the survey on our facebook page here & let your voice be heard!

Thanks ladies!

Etsy Supply Shop

2011-03-26T20:39:00.000-04:00

I've been a busy girl. Seth & I returned from a drive down to beautiful Virginia Beach to visit my cousin & her new baby boy. One of the more exciting things about the return drive home was knowing I had a big ol' box of vintage & new jewels and flower cabs waiting for me. I spent Monday taking pix of them all and behold, Seth & my new supply shop for my destash supplies; findings fix. There are some really great stuff on there & it's pretty cheap. So check it out my darlings! You can also visit it at www.findingsfix.etsy.com. But I need to ask a favor. Can you please go to the Facebook page I created here & 'like' my page? You need at least 25 fans to create your own url so I need 20 more people. Pretty please? I would really appreciate it! Here's a sneak peak of some of the goodies I have up for sale.

Well...what do you think? I'd love to hear!

Supply Shopping

2011-03-12T21:42:00.000-05:00

One of the more fun things about designing jewelry is hunting for new supplies to make your jewelry different and hopefully a cut above the rest. But I must admit, one of the more frustrating things is when you get an order that was international, that cost a lot to have shipped and the one thing you wanted the most was left out or out of stock. So darn frustrating.

That being said, I have a ton of new supplies that came in this week so there will be some more new designs coming out tomorrow. I'm really excited about these matryoshka doll pendants I found. matryoshka dolls, for those of you who aren't familiar, are those sweet little Russian nesting dolls. I have a little bit of an addiction to them. When I find something that incorporates them, I have to have it. Actually a few months ago, on eBay I found these cool nesting doll measuring cups. They add a little whimsy to my kitchen and they come in handy. They have matching measuring spoons now. You can buy the set here.

Oh and looking for a good picture of them, I found these awesome electric guitar ice cube trays! I can't wait to have a house to fill with all these nonsense, novelty goodies! Check the ice cube trays out here. They would be cool for a themed party, or if your man plays guitar. Well, that's all folks. I have a few orders to fill & I have a lot more errands to do tomorrow. We are driving down to Virginia Beach to visit my cousin and see her new baby so I won't be posting any new blogs for a few.

Deutschland

2011-03-10T21:56:00.000-05:00

Ahh sweet Germany. Thank for for so many things...quality glass jewels and cabochons and German chocolate desserts. My night was full of both. Seth has been feeling queasy most of today and I had to make something for dinner that was not overly flavorful or zesty so I put on my chef hat, tied on my apron and cracked open a box of Kraft mac & cheese. I made German chocolate cupcakes for dessert. Seth not being a fan of coconut or nuts for that matter only ate one. But back to the important things.

As a jewelry designer, there is one thing that disgusts me above all others; junk glass. Whether it's poorly beveled edges, cracked, has bubbles, etc. I can't stand working with that crap. You can tell when something is good German or Czechoslovakian glass. If it's from either; you know it's the good stuff.

Just like when you're making a good recipe, your jewelry is going to be as good as the ingredients you use and the technique you have acquired. You can take simple ingredients and give some to a seasoned chef (pun intended) and some to an amateur and that chef is going to whip up something that makes your mouth water. But if you give them bad eggs or sour milk it's not going to taste so good...same goes with the supplies you choose to use in your jewelry.

Aging Brass

2011-03-03T23:54:00.001-05:00

When I began working with brass it was such a struggle to learn how to age the brass. No matter how many google searches I did, all I could seem to find was how to clean brass...which would be almost the opposite.

Well let it be known that you too can age brass and chances are you have everything you need right in your house but mostly your kitchen and maybe your garage if you sneak into your husband's (or boyfriend) things. So anyhow here's what you need to get this show on the road...

airtight food storage container, you won't be using it for food ever again & the chinese food ones work perfectly
clear ammonia
newspaper
an old stocking, I bought one of those cheap knee-high sets that come in the clear plastic bubble for like 50 cents but you can also use a pair you got a run in, we're thinking green here people!
000 fine steel whool
soap
raw brass you want to age
acrylic matte sealer

Well the first thing you want to do is wash your raw brass with warm water & soap. This is important because you want to remove dirt and fingerprints. The oil on your skin will leave fingerprints and when you go to age the brass it will show up even more. Not cool. So after you have your brass nice & squeaky clean you want to dry it really well.

locket 1: aged & polished, locket 2: aged & lockets 3&4 aged too long

Cut a generous piece off your stocking or if you used a knee high cut the toes off. Pour the ammonia into the bottom of the container until it's about 1" deep and then put the stocking over top. Lay your brass on the stocking and clip the lid on but make sure the brass doesn't touch each other or overlap (or else it will end up looking like locket 4). Keep checking on the brass every 15 minutes or so. The fumes from the ammonia will age the brass. Keep a close eye on your brass because you don't want it to rust.

After your brass is nicely aged you'll want to dry it off and then you buff it with the steel wool. The steel wool will bring out the highlights. It's a really nice touch. After you have it looking just right lay it all out on the newspaper and go on outside and give those babies a nice coat of the acrylic sealer. This will ensure the finish doesn't change and it doesn't rub off on skin or clothing.

And that's it! You're ready to create with you wonderfully aged brass findings or lockets. You can always post questions or tips as comments & I'll get back to you. Good luck!

That 70's Look

2011-02-26T14:07:00.001-05:00

Check out any fashion magazine these days and one thing will be apparent; the hippie look is back & it's on blast. That being said, ever since I was a little girl I loved those agate slices that they would infuse dye into. I found a really great deal on them and they arrived in the mail yesterday. I was so excited to make something with them that after I unpacked them I picked two and made necklaces right away.

So this morning I quickly photographed them to share. Let me know what you think. The components I paired them with also have a very earthy feel to them. I battled the cold weather (don't let the sun fool ya) and took some outside pictures because it wasn't bright enough inside yet.

I put my two favorites in front. The pink and purple are pretty but not as natural looking as the blue and brown. Some of the blue ones actually have a hollowed out middle and crystallization inside.

They look really pretty when you hold them up to the light. They look like petrified wood with all the bark rings. This one I took a little brass branch with a cherry blossom on it and wired it along with the agate.

A few length of brass chain hang with a pretty vintage repro brass butterfly and a branch with some oversize leaves and more of that nature feel I was going for.

And I made sure to make the necklaces nice and long (28" to be exact). They look really great layered with a few other natural looking necklaces.

The necklaces should be up for sale in the shop in a few days. If you would like one custom made let me know. I have a few different colors, shapes & sizes. Teal, black, brown, blue, purple & magenta. Depending on how long you want the necklace & how many & what types of charms the average necklace's price point will probably be about $32. Use your coupon codes though from following me on Facebook & save 10% still.

Procrastination is Key

2011-02-24T19:28:00.003-05:00

Tonight I really need to get some food shopping done. The inside of my fridge looks like the inside of a bachelor's fridge; ketchup, mustard, & other various condiments & that's about it. So rather than go I figured I'd update here first.

In one of the bridal magazines I picked up there was a 20% off coupon at Michael's. This store is no good for my checking account. I spent $100 I did not have on "supplies" to make into things I want to sell in my shop. Yeah. Supplies. Do you know where the 2 silk hydrangeas ended up? In my owl vase on my bedroom dresser. Yeah, the hydrangeas I bought to pluck the pretty periwinkle & pink flowers off and combine with some other findings to turn into hair accessories. And the feather butterflies I bought, those are clipped up in my bedroom too. This is what happens. I see stuff I want to decorate with & I think subconsciously I convince myself that I am going to cut it up, sew it together, glue it together, etc. to make accessories but then I never do. My mom has the same illness. We're supply hoarders. If you could only see the wealth of silk flowers, ribbons, spray paint, glitter & other fun things my mom has in her workshop in the basement you would think you stumbled upon the lair of Martha Stewart herself.

It's time to liquidate but I need like 1 week of free time to just be left alone and create. It can be quite a spiritual experience and I don't mean to sound all new worldy. What I would do to go back in time and to not have gotten sick over my 10 day vacation back in December. Oh well, I'm saving up my days this time around!

Wedding Planning Bust

2011-02-23T20:41:00.003-05:00

So I need to write this quickly before my 6 year old nephew gets here. He has off from school this week and since Seth is out of work he is watching him. Mainly they play video games all day. I don't know if that counts as watching him or not. Anyhow he is going to be here any minute with his mom & once he is here I won't be able to hear myself think. He is a great kid and I love him to pieces but he wants your undivided attention. All you mothers out there know exactly what I am talking about. Anyhow I wanted to report that the Huntington Hilton Bridal Expo last night was an epic fail. I mean not only did they make me fill out my name, address, phone number, ssn & sign it in my blood but they wanted my cell phone number which I gave because they were raffling off 2 honeymoon vacations & a photobooth package. And let me tell you, photobooths are all the rage these days. Well needless to say I didn't win anything. But someone did come out the winner today...all the companies I gave my cell phone number to. My cell phone, poor dear, was a vibrating mess all day. When I leave work I don't want voicemails. If you call me & don't get in touch with me, don't leave a voicemail. I don't want to listen to it. So they were the winner. And don't get my started on the food. I sincerely hope they weren't trying to win over anyone to their catering because I could swear that if I was able to sneak into the kitchen the lunch lady from my high school would have been in there. It was god-awful.

That being said I did fall in love with one of the photographers...don't get the wrong idea. I didn't actually fall in love with him, just his photography. So I just have to round up another $4,000 for the wedding photos now which shouldn't be a problem. I mean when you're talking about $20,000 what's another $4,000? Especially when you have an unemployed significant other & you're in the middle of a recession. Pardon my pessimism...I need a large hunk of chocolate.

I just wanted to add that I just read that to Seth & he said he is surprised I have any readers at all. Oh well.

Be Excited

2011-02-23T00:02:00.003-05:00

Okay so not really a huge deal but I opted for adding a "real" photo of me to my profile in an attempt to connect on a more personal level with you, my lovely readers. I look mad. It is because I do not want to work tomorrow.

Back to Work

2011-02-22T18:09:00.006-05:00

I enjoyed having yesterday off & I got a lot done. That breakfast quiche came out so good which proves that making your crust from scratch goes a long way. I will share the recipe because I have now used this crust for pecan pie that I made back in November for Thanksgiving & it made the pie and I used it for breakfast quiche. If you want to try the crust click here. But be warned...it's really really flaky & it melts in your mouth. When my grandma (who is an avid baker) tasted in Thanksgiving she asked me what was in it & I listed off the ingredients. She said the white vinegar is what makes it so flaky...who knew?

I got a lot done on my website too. I edited all 267 listings to have the same layout & info in each body. It was time consuming & tiresome but now as I add new items, they will all have the same layout. I also added 2 new items yesterday which you can check out here & here. Both incorporate ribbon but in a very different way...you'll see what I mean. If you are an international buyer, how important is it to you to have the measurements in Metric?

Also I have some pretty big news...wait for it...I am finally starting to plan our wedding! I am so excited. I went to a bridal showcase at a venue nice & close to my house & I am very excited because it is everything I hoped for and it's right up the road from my church to boot. I am keeping my options open & I'll be visiting another venue tonight with a friend. I am so excited to design head fascinators & costume jewelry for my own wedding! The planning process is so much fun even if it is overwhelming when you're trying to run a business from home & put in 40 hours a week at the office but I can do it. It helps to have 3 friends that are also getting married & we're able to visit places together & share tips. I'll create an inspiration board sometime soon so you can all see what I have in mind for my special day. But right now it's time to run. I have to get ready for the showcase I'm going to tonight.

Ribbon

2011-02-21T13:37:00.013-05:00

So I discovered how much I love incorporating ribbon in my jewelry. I love using the vintage seam bindings. I think they are great to work with and I kind of like how the edge frays giving them a vintage, shabby-chic look. I have a few new designs I worked on that have different color ribbon used. Let me know what you think about ribbon used in costume jewelry designs.

Here are some of my new designs. I just took pictures of them but I haven't had a chance to load the items up in my shop yet. I was trying to edit my pictures in Photoshop last night but it was so slow I got frustrated and decided to hold off until today. My job is closed today so I get to work on my business & cook/bake which are my two favorite things to do. Well I didn't go grocery shopping so I didn't really have much of a choice of what I was cooking. I had bacon that if I didn't cook would have to be thrown out & we always have eggs so breakfast quiche it was. It's in the oven baking right now. I made the crust from scratch so I'll let you know how it comes out. I'm hoping it's good. We got 20 minutes to go before it's out of the oven and I am crossing my fingers. The sky decided to open up today and now the ground is covered in 3"-4" of that white stuff I have come to hate. I am glad it's not enough to have to shovel (my back hurts just thinking about shoveling) but it's enough to be disgusted...the snow from all 3 previous blizzards had just begun to melt!

Oh yeah, I was going to load pictures...sorry I got a little off track.

I'm giving up. These pictures were really crisp & clear & no matter whether I try loading them up as small, medium or large they look equally digitized, so I hope you don't mind. At least you get the idea.

Fall Has Arrived

2010-10-16T00:04:00.002-04:00

I love the summer season (minus the humidity) but I am so glad to see the cooler weather come sweeping in. The a/c is out of the window and the breeze can blow through. I have my pumpkin spice candles burning and I am adding some new exciting items to my line...more headbands! I have a collection of feathers and other goodies that I think would make some great headbands so last night I whipped out the trusty high temp glue gun and got a move on. I made two headbands; one using peacock feathers, velvet and a Swarovski stone and another using guinea feathers and a cameo cab. I even made a black velvet bow which I think I might keep for myself which is one of the many perks of designing your own jewelry & accessories. :D

It is supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow and I have not a thing in the world to do aside from sit on my deck and take pictures of new stuff to list in the shop. I'm super excited because having nothing to do only happens when the stars and moon are in perfect alignment...okay not really but it's not often I can just do what I want when I want at my leisure. You know how it is, there's usually laundry waiting or dinner that isn't going to cook itself. Oh and I did promise my beau that I would make him a pumpkin pie tomorrow but I love cooking and baking.

So that being said, tune into the shop this fall to see all kinds of new goodies. And maybe one day soon I will have a chance to clean off my workbench and use some of the new supplies I bought on etsy. If anyone knows of a good place to get nice feathers, please feel free to send me a nice email. :)

Giveaway

2010-09-06T22:34:00.002-04:00

Wow looking at my last post makes me realize how much I've been slacking when it comes to blogging. Shame on me! However with the cooler weather comes more hard work since Summer is mainly for playing outdoors. That being said I just wanted to make you all aware of a giveaway I will be doing here next week. Just make sure you check them out next week to find out all the nitty gritty details to enter.

What are we giving away? Only the Formidable Beauty necklace in your choice of color.

Who are you giving it to? It's not just open to US residents, the giveaway will be open worldwide for all my lovely international fans!

Any other questions...just check out Dandy Giveaway's page.

Good luck! Hope you win ;)

Scent Lockets

2010-08-08T19:29:00.007-04:00

There is more to put inside a locket than just pictures. Using this locket you can make a solid perfume yourself so you have your perfume with you ready to go at all times if you're smelling less than fresh (please do not substitute perfumes for showering though :p). It's really easy and some of the stuff you might even have in your house already! Homemade solid perfumes are great because they are alcohol free & can be made totally vegan.
Ingredients:

1 tbsp. of either bees wax OR petroleum jelly
1 tbsp. of jojoba oil OR almond oil
8-15 drops of essential oil
locket

Combine the first ingredient (bees wax or jelly) with the jojoba or almond oil. You can either microwave them both together for a few seconds or use one of those double boilers but microwave works best. Once they are liquid you can add the drops of essential oil in our favorite scents or combine them for a custom scent. Pour concoction into the recess of the locket and set aside to cool. Once it's completely cool you can wear the necklace. When you need a little perfume rub with your finger, the heat in your finger will liquefy enough & then rub wrists or neck to scent!

Power Tools

2010-07-27T18:01:00.006-04:00

Everyone thinks they're just for boys but let me tell you, they're not! I love power tools. They make my life so much easier. When I was at Michael's the other day I laughed because I saw the "she" tool kit which consisted of different power tools that were girly and pink. I wouldn't be able to live with out my drill and wouldn't be able to make and share a lot of the designs I've created with out it. I remember how difficult supply shopping was before I had it. I had to either make sure everything had a hole or I had to pay extra to have them drilled where I wanted.

I'm bringing this up because I think my next investment is going to be an engraving tool. I need something that's not too bulky (remember my 'studio' is a corner of my bedroom) and not too expensive. I get a lot of requests from customers asking me if I can engrave something in my lockets and I have seen some of the art that has been done with etching tools. I thought maybe I could offer a locket with names on it or sayings inside. Of course they would have to be pretty big lockets but it's a thought. I did a google search to see what kind of engraving tools are out there but I figured it was worth shot posting it here to see if any of my readers use and recommend one.

So...that being said...help a sister out. Do you use an engraver ever? Do you recommend one to buy?

Melting...

2010-07-17T20:32:00.002-04:00

Today I feel like the Wicked Witch of the West when she gets the water thrown on her because I feel like I'm melting. I mean it is so darn hot & living in an upstairs apartment that faces the East with no a/c is really taking its toll on me. I do love the summer but I also can't wait for my favorite season, fall, to come. This heat wave is so overrated!

On a side note I have been trying to help my mom out lately with her small business. She is a waitress and her legs are always bothering her along with having other physical ailments. She needs to do something where she is not on her feet all day & she began a small jewelry supply business a few years back that has slowly grown. I just created a fan page for her on facebook along with a twitter account so that when she has sales, etc. she can post it.

She has some great stuff if you make jewelry or do scrapbooking. Her customer service is excellent and she has 100% positive feedback in her shop. She hand picks, inspects & sorts her items so you know whatever you're getting is the cream of the crop stuff. She has a wide selection of vintage items including vintage jewels. If you're on facebook & want to check out her facebook page click here. You can follow her on twitter by clicking here. And here's her shop.

Baby shower favors

2010-06-26T20:20:00.004-04:00

One of my cousins happens to be pregnant. I was the Maid of Honor in her wedding & we have always been really close. So of course when I found out she had a bun in the oven (I love that term, hehe) I was super excited. She lives in Virginia Beach though & I live in NY. However I have spoken to her a few times & I know she is coming home before she has her little boy. That being said I have been perusing the blogosphere looking for baby shower ideas along with favors. I always tend to lean more towards something edible for favors because...well...how many cheap picture frames, place card holders, trinket boxes, etc. does one person really need? And who doesn't want chocolate or something else that's yummy?

I was so excited when I stumbled upon a website called Bake it Pretty, you can check out the site here. They have all kinds of goodies from tempered chocolate melts, to lollipop sticks & finally to chocolate molds. And the best part is everything seems to be really affordable! Here's what I'm getting at, imagine candy molds in the shape of actual sized vintage buttons! I can think of a million fabulous things to make with these & with the different flavors drops she sells I can make them taste like whatever I want. Some of her candy melts already have flavors like peanut butter, butterscotch & mint.

If you check out here site, you have to visit the customer gallery which is choc (pun intended) full of inspirational goodies customers are sharing using her supplies. I'll be ordering her button molds when they are back in stock & I'll be sure to share the goodies I make with them.

It's not a hobby...

2010-06-19T16:11:00.008-04:00

it's an addiction! I was running low on silver chain so it was time to stop by some of my favorite supply shops on etsy & stock up. My biggest problem is that I can never just get what I need & get out...I always linger & fill my 'shopping cart' with a ton of new supplies & then I go to check out & realize the total is about 4x what I set aside to spend & I have to start removing items...which makes me really sad. :(

Along with plain old chain, which some might think is boring, I stopped by one of my new favorite supply shops & picked up more charms because...well...you can never have enough charms. Especially in an aged brass patina! Here's a sneak peak at some of the new goodies I bought & I'm waiting for to be delivered. What do you think?

It's funny sometimes people who are interested in making their own jewelry or maybe are just interested in how I make mine will ask what was the inspiration. If you have ever made jewelry, or any craft or fashion item you know this...sometimes it's the supplies alone that inspire the design. I can see something & instantly see what I would like to do with that item. Other times I sit with everything spread out in front of my on my work bench & just stare at my organized mess & it will come to me then. Most times though I will think of a design in my head when I am out doing something & I will have to come home and jot down a sketch, then when I am ready I have to try to hunt down the material to bring my idea to fruition.

So now that I shared some inspiration & new supplies with you, I would love to hear what inspires you or how you come up with new ideas and designs! Even if it's decorating your home or accessorizing your daughter's outfits.

*I did not take these pictures. They are owned by diyparadise.

And the winner is...

2010-06-19T00:03:00.002-04:00

Can I get a drumroll please? It's 12:00 am est on June 19th & I just went onto random.org so they could choose the winner of the 'Berried Flower' earrings giveaway.

The winner is Mikki! Please comment this blog post with your email address so I can contact you for your address to send the earrings you won! You have 24 hours to claim your prize otherwise another winner will be drawn. Hope to hear from you soon & congrats!

Disastrous

2010-06-07T00:33:00.002-04:00

I was so very excited. I age most of my own brass findings, lockets, charms, etc. So I bought a bunch of raw brass lockets in bulk to get more for my money. I usually have my own concoction I use to age raw brass but I decided to be lazy & use my bottle of brown JAX. Bad move...So basically I just ruined a huge amount of lockets & vintage ring bases by allowing them to rust. This never happened before but of course the one time I put a bunch in together, viola! they rust. I tried buffing them but there's no use.

That being said, only age 1 piece of brass at a time if you're using JAX & definitely rinse the aging solution off immediately to prevent further aging (& rusting). I have to throw them away now & not think about how much money I just wasted. :(

It's that time again...time for a give-away that is!

2010-06-05T10:50:00.009-04:00

PRIZE WASN'T CLAIMED - I went back & visited my good friend random.org & it chose Marcy as the winner! Marcy please send me an email with your address info so I can send you your earrings! Congrats!

Sometimes it is just too hot out to wear a lot of jewelry. It's not good marketing for me to say that but we all know it's true. It's 94 degrees outside, you don't want to be wearing the chunky necklace with a lot of surface area...or the big heavy dangley earrings, just saying. But there are always the light weight less hot alternatives. I'm talking post/stud earrings & hair jewelry (which btw is getting more & more popular).

That being said it's time for a give away! What am I giving away? Oh a pair of the Berried Flowers stud earrings. To enter all you have to do is post a link to this blog entry on one of the following sites: Facebook, Twitter or your blog. Each time you post is 1 entry. You can post an update a maximum of 1 time each day. After you've posted just comment below with a link to the update.

Please make sure you only put 1 comment per entry. So if you updated on Facebook & Twitter say, you would need to post 2 comment below with a link to each one. Easy, right? A number will be randomly drawn using a website & the winner will be posted on here. Contest ends 12:00am est 6/19/10 & no entries will be taken after then.

Spread the word!

It's a scorcher

2010-06-02T20:10:00.004-04:00

So the last few days on the island have been brutal to say the least. Don't get me wrong, I love Long Island but living on a peninsula makes the summers so humid. Humidity & I are not friends...at all. I know I should have put in my air conditioner a few days ago but the problem is I love cross ventilation & fresh air. I live in a small one bedroom apartment with my beau & I love having the screen door open & the windows. As a matter of fact it's worth the balmy nights to be able to enjoy a gorgeous Saturday afternoon with the breeze blowing through the lace curtains. The problem is this, I can't have my cake & eat it to. The window in the bedroom & living room are a weird size, very long and not so wide. I end up having to put an ugly plywood board over top of the ac cutting off any breeze & a lot of sunshine. My workbench is in our bedroom & when the window is shut off & I can't have sunshine while I am creating I find it very depressing. Anyone else know what I'm talking about?

The moral of this story is I need to buy a house. If anyone is interested in helping out my fundraiser you can donate at any time to heatherly_designs@yahoo.com through Paypal. hehehe (or just keep on patronizing me)

I could really use a wish right now...

2010-05-29T15:45:00.005-04:00

"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky, are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now." - "I could use a dream or a genie or a wish to go back to a place much simpler than this."

Still keeping it 'real' & relivent. I know you, my lovely reader's, ages vary so I am not sure if you're familiar with Paramore but they're one of my favorite groups. So you can only imagine how happy I was when the single "Airplanes" hit the radio airwaves. I love Hayley William's voice (singer of Paramore) & she is the one singing vocals for the song. I'm a big lover of alternative & rock music but I love hip-hop too. I guess you can say I'm a little hip-hop & a little bit Altern-Rock&Roll, haha. If you haven't heard the song you can click here to listen.

Fun fact about me, if you listen to the same music as I do you might notice some of the names of my jewelry are pulled from musical lyrics. I also jot down inspiring words & names when reading a good book. As a matter of fact I pulled a lot of great names from The Other Boleyn Girl series by Philippa Gregory. My children's line, Mademoiselle Parfait, was a name that Anne Boleyn had called her sister or vice versa.

ps- I'm listening to "Airplanes" right now ;) & you can also click on any of the above underlined words to check out details.

Just being 'me'

2010-05-27T23:33:00.010-04:00

So I guess you guys wanted to know a little bit more about...mio? I'm flattered! Well I visit my grandma once a week & today was my grandma night. She cooks dinner & my fiance Seth & I go over there & eat with her & play dominoes. She's a pretty amazing woman. She is an excellent cook/baker but she is also a crazy good gardener & she has 2 green thumbs! I took some really great pictures of her garden in bloom on my phone. They inspired some new jewelry designs which was a real plus. Sometimes sitting outside surrounded by nature can be the most artistically inspiring thing. I always knew painters were easily inspired by it but you can really translate nature into any creative outlet...even jewelry. I'm sharing a few of the best pictures with you. They're not too good because remember, it's my phone I took them on.

In Japanese cherry blossoms are known as "sakura". They are one of my favorite flowers when interpretted into artwork by artists.

This is a really rare colored tulip. My phone didn't capture the real beauty of these but they fade from a sunshine bright yellow all the way through orange & into red.

I just really liked the fuchsia color of this little lone tulip. A pretty garden shot down the front pathway. Once you round the corned you might be mistaken & think you're in Eden.

Uninspired

2010-04-25T20:18:00.002-04:00

I'm always designing new jewelry, always taking new pictures & always adding new things in my shop but I feel like I have nothing to write about. It's hard to write something that you know people want to read, ya know? What do you want to hear about? I feel like what I write should in some way be directly related to my jewelry. What can inspire an interesting blog?

Hidden Talent Uncovered: Wedding Invites & More

2010-03-18T12:57:00.002-04:00

Mekala is the owner of a great company called Tie That Binds. She designs anything from invitations to favors & everything she touches is so creative. Her stuff is inspiring to say the least & let me just tell you...if you're a bride to be, you just have to check out her site.

Below is an interview with this inspiring artist entrepreneur. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed interviewing her. It was for selfish reasons I must admit. She lives too far away to actually peak at her work with my own eyes so I was hoping that by getting some insight into her daily designing routine some of her inspiration would rub off on me! I'm happy to say I caught the spring designing fever!

Name: Mekala Tinnin

Company: Tie That Binds

Website: www.tiethatbindsweddings.com

What made you decide to do this business? I loved planning my wedding. When I realized the bug bit me and didn't let go after we said, "I do", I decided to start a little website to display my wedding work. I didn't plan on making it a serious thing, but when my website caught the eye of a few wedding blogs, business exploded!

What's your specialty? Customized invitation suites that depict the relationship between the bride and groom. It's a great way to introduce friends and family to the person they're marrying. And because I get so involved in the love story and their lives, I'm constantly walking away from weddings with new friends!

What first made you decide to become a member of the artistic community? I had a great professor in college who saw an artistic spark in me. He encouraged me to pursue the graphic arts because he thought I would flourish. Lo and behold, he was right, and I love the work I do. I'm not sure he knows how much his faith in me played a pivotal role in the direction of my career.

Describe a typical day for you. Whew! Okay. My husband is deployed with the Army to Afghanistan right now, so most of my day is spent with my computer and the dog. I wake between 6:30 and 7am. Coffee, breakfast, and feed the dog. Head upstairs to the computer and work until 1. Eat something, change out of my pj's, brush my teeth (for the first time all day, hah!) and take the dog to the park. Run to the print shop, solidify invitations/colors/favors/whatever else. Come back, work until 4 or 5. Eat something, feed the dog, and clean the house a little. Head upstairs again to answer emails and work until 9 or so. Lay in bed until 10 thinking about weddings. It's a life dedicated to the computer and wedding design, but I love it!

Describe your creative process. Music, coffee and sweat pants! I do a lot of research of what's out there and what's new. There are a few blogs I always go to in an effort to keep up with trends, and a few non-wedding-related blogs that keep me motivated as well. I can be inspired by anything- a puddle, a bird's nest, or a piece of fabric. So needless to say, I spend a lot of time wandering around the web and the world. :)

What handmade possession do you most cherish? This is a hard one. Probably my handmade books from college art classes.

What is your favorite website? Hm...most visited would probably be Style Me Pretty and Design*Sponge. I also really like Joy Ever After. They're great places to find daily inspiration, and push me to be a better designer.

If you're alone working, what are you listening to on your ipod? I'm always working alone! So the music is generally blasting and annoying the neighbors. These days I listen to John Mayer...even though he's kind of become a jerk lately. Sometimes I listen to the play list from my wedding, or people like Frank Sinatra and Norah Jones. Jars of Clay is good too. Anything laid back. And sometimes sad!

How do you promote your work? By making buddies with people like Heather! Blogs are the magazines of the world, just wait and see. Word-of0mouth does wonders as well. This fall however, I'm really going to focus on advertising, so you might see Tie That Binds out there spreading the message!

Stay tuned because Heatherly Designs & Tie That Binds is working together to bring you a Heatherly inspired invitation line! Make sure you check out Mekala's site here. She has so many different invitation lines some of my favorites are Queen of Hearts & French Flora!

Hidden Talent Uncovered: Hair Fascinators

2010-02-24T18:29:00.003-05:00

When you search "hair fascinators" on google there are nearly 800,000 results. They seem to range anywhere from $15 to $200 for the most popular styles. I always thought they were a little too 'theatrical' but I was in the mall the other day and couldn't get over the fact that stores for younger ladies like Claire's and Icing carry hair fascinators. That's usually a sign that it is a current HOT item...especially when everyone in the store is flocked around the wall where they all are trying them on and preening in front of the mirror.

Fascinators are great for your bridal party, or even if you want to wear one as the bride. Here's a one of a kind fascinator I found on etsy made by Karen of PresentsOfPresence. But they don't have to be only for really special occasions. I was out to dinner the other night and even spotted a few girls with their hair straightened and they had their bangs swept up and clipped to the side by, you guessed it, a fascinator just like this one here.

They come in every style and all different sizes. Some of the most popular ones look very punk or showgirl like and then there are some that are so vintage and delicate looking. They were described as "the hottest thing in the UK" and now they're gaining popularity in the US.

Sneak Peak

2010-02-16T20:26:00.006-05:00

My new spring line will be released soon. I think I am in love with every new design. They are so representative of every thing I love about spring...colors. From washed out watercolors to pastels it's like a garden to wear. I'm very excited (can you tell?).

I've been adding pictures of the new designs onto my Heatherly Designs Jewelry Facebook account. So if you wanted to check out the new designs that are not even in the shop yet, you can become a fan of Heatherly on FB by clicking right here and take a sneak peak. I love to hear feedback. So take a look and let me know what you think!

They're Here!

2010-02-12T12:53:00.002-05:00

I was so excited because Wenesday morning before the blizzard kicked in, the mailman delivered my new business cards! I was so very pleased with them. I have to say I always get them printed at www.gotprint.com and it is always a pleasure doing business with them.

They help you with sending you a photoshop layout so you can see the 'bleed' area around your design. As long as you use their grid none of your image gets cut off. They send you a proof to be approved before the cards even go to print which is great in case you missed any spelling errors or in case the image isn't centered right. And then they send you the actual tracking info once the order is sent.

Where else can you get 2,500 business cards printed on high quality uv resistant paper for less than $35? So I highly recommend them for your business card needs.

New Sneak Peak

2010-02-07T13:58:00.004-05:00

For all of my loyal readers I have a surprise sneak peak for you. I am so excited to be adding hairpins to my jewelry line using my beautiful vintage glass jewels! In the picture shown is one of my favorites in a medium vitrail which is a swirl of yellow, green, blue & orange.

I will be listing some of these news pins starting this week. I will be rocking mine this week to work to see what people think. I think they'll add some sparkle to a messy bun or a pretty updo. They're very sparkly and as soon as my crystal ones were completed I thought of a bride on her wedding day look for that extra hint of sparkle but with my signature vintage twist. Or a color to match your bridesmaid's dresses. What a great little gift they'd make!

I would LOVE to hear what you think of these new hair pins. If they take off they'll soon be available in all my colors. If you would like to set up a reserved listing for them please send me an email to heather@heatherlyjewelry.com or a message on etsy. I can make almost any color.

New Business Card Design Completed

2010-01-31T23:30:00.005-05:00

After months of procrastinating & days of trying to decide which single jewelry design could sum up the essence of my jewelry...I did it. I finally & completely finished my new business cards & I am so excited for them to come back from the printer. I ended up not using any of the designs I had everyone vote on. I had made a new pair of earrings that I took a picture of today and I knew once I saw the picture that this was it.

So I am sharing a copy of the new business card design. I would love to hear your feedback. Please tell me that you like this design better than the jewelry in the previous post below. Can't wait to hear your feedback!

Help!

2010-01-25T22:17:00.010-05:00

I ran out of business cards a few months ago. I've just been too busy to design new ones. The way it seems to work with my cards is I order 2,500 at a time and by the time I have used my last one, I want to redesign them because I am so sick of the design.

I started working on a new design tonight but I really don't want to do a photoshop card with just a collage of images. I want the design to match the heading of my shop and blog but I do want to showcase one piece of my jewelry. So I am asking my readers for help. I can't narrow down which piece of jewelry I think should make up the business card. So I am going to give you some choices.

Please let me know which one you think I should turn into a business card. Don't mind the logos or shadowing on the photos because I will be retaking the pictures. Leave me a comment and let me know which piece you think summerizes my line the most!

Choice 1: Attic Treasure

Choice 2: Bird of Paradise

Choice 3: Enchantments

Choice 4: Girly

Choice 5: Mariposa
Choice 6: My Irish Heart

Overwhelmed

2010-01-20T17:15:00.002-05:00

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray"

That is the quote of my life lately. During the winter, because it looks like midnight when I get home from work the only time I can take photos of new designs to add to my shop is on the weekend. The only thing is lately I never have the weekends to myself anymore. It's always something.

Well today I took off from work because my husband lost his grandfather. I cleaned up my workspace more & spent a lot of time aging some new lockets I got and I have the stained and blackened fingers to prove it.

I braved the freezing cold and took advantage of the sunlight today & took pictures of some new jewelry I had made weeks ago. I look forward to adding some new designs to the shop. That being said I had went on a supply spree bender over these last few months and I have so many new supplies to work with I still have not even found homes for any of the stuff.

New Year, New Posabilities

2010-01-03T22:37:00.002-05:00

So after months of procrastinating today I began to organize my work desk. Over the past 6 months I have been buying more and more supplies and it started to look like just a big mound of junk. So I cleared it off. I put away most of the loose supplies that were laying on top and I got all of my recent rhinestone purchases together in place. My supplies are slowly taking over the room. At least now though I feel like I can work in there. The past few months I have found myself grabbing the supplies I needed to fill orders and making them on top of my laptop.

So here's to a new year and my resolution is to put away and find a permanent home for all the new supplies I buy when they arrive. This way my workspace stays clean. Now I just really need to get on some new designs which somehow I managed today while I was reorganizing.

Hopefully you all made a new year resolution you could stick with. Of course I still have my resolution to lose weight but that one is really more of a tradition than anything else.

Taking a Deep Breath

2009-12-05T22:21:00.002-05:00

I am one of those perfectionist type people. I always end up overwhelming myself with this whole list of things that need to be done & done perfectly to my liking & this weekend is no exception. With Seth starting a new job after almost a year of being unemployed we jumped head first into a new life style. We carpool for now because we haven't been able to afford having two cars on the road through out his unemployment so I drive him to work & then go to work myself. His new job is a 10 hour day so I have to come back and wait for him to get off of work before we can begin our nightly trek home. I love sitting in rush hour traffic when I know I have so much to do at home & so many of your jewelry orders to fill.

So today was horrible because I have tons of orders between the two shops to get out and I have Christmas shopping to finish, cleaning to do, laundry to do (we live in an apt. so this means the laundromat) & I still have not decorated one thing here for Christmas. This morning Seth had a doctor appointment so we got up & ran out in the horrible weather to get him there & get to the pharmacy. Fun fun. I came home & had a migraine so the rest of my day consisted of sleeping on the couch & getting up every couple hours to take more medicine for it. So needless to say that whole list of things I had to get done...I got nothing done today. So tomorrow I have to rush to get it all done which means I will go back to work on Monday more tired than I left Friday.

Black Friday Sale

2009-11-24T22:49:00.004-05:00

It's sale time! My favorite time of the year is the holidays. That being said Heatherly Designs & Mademoiselle Parfait will be running a Black Friday Blowout Special!

I would like to offer my loyal customers 50% on one regular priced item when one is purchased at full price. Discounted item must be of equal or lesser value. Please pay for the entire order. Put code BLACKFRIDAY in the note to seller box when checking out & your savings will be refunded to you.

I am also offering free shipping on orders over $5o. Please pay for your order in full. Shipping charge will be refunded to you upon checking out. Please use code BFFREESHIP in the note to seller box when checking out.

These two offers CAN be combined.

This sale ends midnight Friday November 27th.

Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving holiday!

October: Come & Gone

2009-11-16T14:57:00.001-05:00

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

2009-10-03T18:15:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-10T21:46:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-13T20:45:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-07T23:38:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-12T22:41:00.010-04:00

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

2009-07-10T19:54:00.006-04:00

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:

Aqua Blue

Pastel AB Rainbow

Ruby (shown above)

Fuchsia

Sapphire

Peridot

Light Sapphire

Crystal Diamond

Amethyst

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

2009-07-05T21:01:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-03T12:42:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-25T22:06:00.006-04:00

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. :(

Token of Affection Necklace Give-a-way

2009-06-20T13:56:00.003-04:00

How would you like to win one of my "Token of Affection" necklaces in your choice of color? Well, it's really easy. Today Fabulous Fun Finds & Heatherly Designs are coming together to offer you a chance at winning this best selling necklace. Just check out Heather @ Fabulous Fun Finds blog here to enter.

Entering is free & easy. Good luck to everyone!

Busy

2009-06-19T19:38:00.005-04:00

These past few weeks have been so very busy. Last weekend I drove into the city (NYC) because one of my good friends from high school had her line of clothing in a fashion show. It was a really fun night. I only wish I had more money to burn so that I could have stayed hanging out in the city longer.

Then today was my nephew's moving up ceremony from preschool and next year he will be going to kindergarten. My little man. He is getting so big so fast. I have a busy weekend ahead of me. Friends are in from out of town, Sunday is Father's Day. I will try and find a break in there somewhere. I still have a ton of great new designs to add to my shop. I have a ton of new vintage cabs that I have made into stud earrings and I am dying to take pictures of them and get them listed.

I also have several wholesale orders to fill. I am also battling a very strong Facebook addiction. Does anyone know if they offer support groups or meetings for Facebook abusers? I have been posting new pictures of upcoming items on Twitter & Facebook. It's fun to see how quick people are to click on it. Like I post something and watch the views go up 20 or 30 in under one minutes. I am really enjoying the age of technology. It really makes marketing a breeze and the best part is, it's free!

*Featured above: My "Candy Dots" earrings which feature a 'moonlight' glass flatback cab in snow white. It has a mother of pearl look to it but picks up light almost like a fiber optic bead too. I love this chunky studs because they cover a good portion of my lobe and give a very vintage look to whatever I am wearing.

Lazy Sunday

2009-06-14T11:56:00.004-04:00

Hey it's supposed to be warm and sunny. It's JUNE but it feels like a chilly, rainy autumn day. Not so cool. And it's raining outside to boot. So I won't be taking pictures of new designs today. Oh well. I still have a ton of stuff to add to the shop anyway. I know summer makes you want to wear a cute pair of jean shorts or a little sun dress. But oh my, so many bare ankles! Dress up your ankle with some of my cute anklets. I just added two new ones to the shop. Go check them out here.

I have another anklet very similar to this one that I need to add. It's a double sided puffed seahorse charm & it's soooo cute.

Spring is for weddings

2009-06-13T20:54:00.003-04:00

One of my lovely customers sent me a picture from her wedding. In it she is wearing my bracelet and I though she looked so beautiful I wanted to share it with you all. Doesn't she make a beautiful bride! Thanks for sharing Lei Lei! This is the bracelet she is wearing.
Photograph property of Laurie Peacock. Permission was given to post this picture. To check out Laurie's Website click here. Thanks Laurie!

Customization, Anyone?

2009-06-01T22:46:00.006-04:00

Ok so how many time to you find something that you love love LOOOOVE but the color just is not right? Well have I got the necklace for you. The 'Formidable Beauty' necklace is perfect. It is simple and sleek with that vintage twist.

But the best two things about it is how affordable it is & that you can have it customized in your favorite color. Yay! And there is really a third great thing, it matches the 'Dolce' earrings I have for sale. So you can get the perfect matching jewelry set for under $60 including shipping. If that's not sweet then I don't know what is.

Check out the stones below for all of the great colors I have available. My stones are top notch and in excellent shape. I have a lot of rare colors and they are all at least half a century old. Vintage stone jewelry is perfect as a birthday gift because the stones are imitation gemstones so they come in all the colors. Check out my birthstone chart here.

Matchy Matchy

2009-05-31T13:11:00.005-04:00

A lot of my customers are always asking, "Do you have earrings to go with that?". Well, the answer is, yes! Most if not all of my jewelry has matching counterparts. However I myself am a huge fan of mix and match. I decided to do a new weekly (I'm going to really try) blog about different mix and match pieces in my shop. We'll see how it goes...

This weeks group is the Senorita necklace & the Persian Paradise earrings. Did you know that the Roselings studs match the Senorita necklace perfectly?

Up & Coming

2009-05-30T15:42:00.004-04:00

It's been a while. I have definately been slacking off about posting new blogs but who doesn't from time to time? It's been so nice out and with business so slow I kind of took a much needed break over the Memorial Day weekend. But now I am back in full swing. I have made a ton of new jewelry which I am currently working on taking photos of. As soon as they're cropped I will have the newbies listing in the shop. Get ready for some great stud earrings I am very excited about.

If you're local I will be featured in Lealand Eve on friday June 5th for Sayville town's "First Fridays". I will have a table set up in LE boutique where you will get sneak peaks of my new jewelry & be able to snatch it up even before it hits the onling shop. So if you're in the area swing by Lealand Eve Boutique this friday from 6-9pm.

If you're in the area any other time feel free to check them out. Aside from carrying Heatherly Designs jewelry they also have a great mix of other nature inspired items, bath products & men's wear. And don't forget to pick up a print of one of Lealand's awe inspiring pieces of original artwork or if you feel like splurging, an orignal piece of art. You can check out her etsy here.

Also if you are a Fabulous Fun Finds follower make sure to check out Heather's blog. I will be giving away one of my 'Token of Affection' rose necklaces exclusively on her blog. Don't forget to follow her. The official give-away is June 20th.

Garden Gate Ring Give-away

2009-05-16T19:26:00.005-04:00

Yay it's time for the next give-away! Aren't you excited? I know I am. If you know and love my silver plated brass "Garden Gate" ring then you'll love this promotional. Basically you spend $30 in my shop and use the code "BLOG" and I will include a FREE "Garden Gate" ring with your order. This is a $10 value. These rings are great because they're so comfortable, match everything & are fully adjustable so one size fits most. It's easy to mold it to fit your finger and who doesn't like to add some art nouveau style to their outfit?

Get your ring now while supplies last. Promotional ends next Saturday, May 23rd or until I run out of ring. Just to clarify you need to spend $30 before the cost of shipping. Be sure to check out my sale section in my shop for items I am liquidating to make room for new inventory.

This is exclusively for my blog & twitter followers. Be sure to put the code "BLOG" in the 'notes to seller' box when checking out so you can get your free ring. One more thing, sales can be combined with my Mademoiselle Parfait shop. Just make sure you check out with your items under the same user name if you split up your purchases between the two shops.

Conrtact me via etsy convo or email with any questions!

Playing Hooky

2009-05-04T16:48:00.002-04:00

It's always a treat staying home from work when there isn't any specific thing I have to do & I am not sick. I was the maid of honor in my cousin's wedding this weekend. Since her husband is a Lt. in the US Navy he is temporarily stationed in Rhode Island. So mom, my sister, Seth and I all drove up to RI in my little Altima this weekend.

It was a small but very nice wedding. She was married in a chapel by the sea and thank God it didn't start drizzling until everyone was getting into their cars to head to the reception. However my curls were flat by that time.

So it was an exhausting weekend. I had laundry to get done, grocery shopping to do & a lot of orders to get out. So after Seth's doctor appointment I plan on cracking down and pumping out all orders.

So if you have been waiting, I thank you for your patience. Your order is getting dropped off at the post office today. :)

Planning ahead

2009-05-04T00:16:00.011-04:00

I know this may sound crazy...but I am already planning for the holiday season. With summer comes a slew of festivals and craft fairs. I have learned from my past mistakes. In the past I have left designing my new jewelry for the fall and winter to the slower summer months and before I know it, it's September and back to school and I have no inventory. No little stock pile of items that are made and ready to ship. This year I vow that I will not be up until at least 2am each night filling Christmas orders and shipping them.

I realize that we are in a recession but I have been dumping every cent I make into new supplies. It may sound a little crazy but right now sales are slow and I want to have enough supplies to go into the summer with. Right now my hot items are ones with my vintage German and Czech glass rhinestones. I found a supplier who has them and sells them to me and bulk and they started running out of certain colors. I am eager to have a stock pile so I am not left short handed when more orders come in and I can't get certain colored rhinestones any longer.

What I think some people take for granted is vintage new old stock supplies. I am guilty of this until I placed and order and had my supplier contact me to tell me that they no longer had a particular color and couldn't acquire any more. Bummer. So the moral to this story is my DOLCE earrings will not be able to be on sale forever. I am thinking of ending the sale by this coming weekend. But don't worry, I will think up a new sale :)

*As seen above DOLCE Lavender Bombe Vintage Pear Jewel Earrings.

Forbidden Fruit Treasury

2009-05-03T19:08:00.004-04:00

Dark amethyst is a rich shade of plum. I wanted to share this treasury that justCHARMING was nice enough to feature me DOLCE earrings in. I always feel so special to be included in a treasury because there are so many millions of items for sale and as the curator, you can only choose 12 items! So thanks justCHARMING for including me in your lovely treasury. You made my Sunday evening. You can check out the treasury here, but it does expire Tuesday evening

New

2009-05-03T02:19:00.003-04:00

It took all night into the wee hours of the morning (as you can see by the timestamp on this post) but I have finally figured out how to add a second bar to the side of my blog. With many thanks to Web Talks. I tried to add it but couldn't find where to add the CSS. Thankfully this site had a link to download the template and then just upload it. After that it was a piece of cake.

You'll notice my new banner and I hope to be adding some ads from fellow etsy shops on the left bar now. I am very excited!

Buying Trip

2009-05-02T17:30:00.005-04:00

As you probably already know I partner with my mom in business. I spend a fortune on jewelry supplies and since most places make you buy in bulk to save money, we usually split whatever we buy. So once every 3 to 6 months we go on a buying trip into the city, depending on how fast we go through the supplies. It's a nice day when it's not raining or snowing...or so cold and windy it's below zero degrees! This last time we went in, it was gorgeous out. I vowed to bring my camera and take a whole bunch of pictures of some of my favorite bead stores. However, after taking the first two pictures I put my camera away and completely got wrapped up in buying. Needless to say my first two pictures that day, were my last two pictures.

So I only have one picture of beaded paradise to share with you. If you're a jewelry designer then you should definitely check out my mom's supply store on etsy. She carries a really wide variety of items and 95% of it is hand picked. She has a lot of supplies other sellers do not offer. You can check out her shop here.

One more before bed...

2009-04-19T22:22:00.004-04:00

So I have been thinking about how it's time for a new business card design. Basically I order them by the 2,000 and it seems that just as they're running out and I am having to think about ordering more I decide I am really sick of the design. Not to mention I am constantly working towards streamlining my image.

So I need your help! I need one or two (but no more than that) pieces of jewelry to put on the card. It has to be a piece that sums up my designs. It's going to be difficult to narrow it down.

So if you have a piece of my jewelry in mind please please PLEASE leave me a comment and let me know which one you would like to see. But wait, I am not asking for help with out a reward. If you pick the piece that I choose to use on my card you will win it! So go & tell me what you think!

Rhinestone Heaven

2009-04-19T20:56:00.004-04:00

You know I have been talking about my little growing collection of vintage Czech & German glass rhinestones. Well I decided to take a few pictures of my growing collection to share with you. I have been pumping out new earrings as fast as I can. Once I have a pair of every color & shape I have up I will start working on some cute simple matching necklaces. If you want to you can check out the earrings as I add them by clicking here.

*And don't forget I have a BOGO sale going on exclusively with the earrings. Buy 2 pairs at regular price & get 1 pair for free.

Sneak Peak

2009-04-18T23:47:00.004-04:00

I have been taking pictures of some more new vintage rhinestone earrings all day. It was so gorgeous out how could I stay cooped up inside? Well here is a sneak peak at the new shape coming to my shop.

The new shape I will be adding tomorrow is these lovely pears. I have them in just about any color & the best part is that they are imitation gem stones. I am thinking these would be great for birthday gifts. Just get your friends birthstone color. I have them all and if it's not listed, just let me know. These are also included in the BOGO sale. Buy 2 pairs of rhinestone earrings get 1 free. And who doesn't like free?

Here's the traditional birthstone chart in case your forgot who gets what:
January - Garnet (deep red)
February - Amethyst (lavender)
March - Aquamarine (light blue)
April - Diamond (clear)
May - Emerald (deep green)
June - Smoky Quartz (grayish brown)
July - Ruby (red)
August - Peridot (green)
September - Sapphire (blue)
October - Pink Tourmaline (light pink)
November - Citrine (yellow)
December - Blue Topaz (teal)

Aging Brass

2009-04-18T18:57:00.006-04:00

CHECK OUT MY NEWER BLOG ENTRY ON HOW TO AGE BRASS HERE.
My last trip into the city brought me to a shop that I thought was going to have an array of beads & findings. I found something quite different. It was filled from floor to ceiling with solutions, tools & technical equipment for jewelry making. The place was so crowded that I was instantly turned off but as I went to leave there was a huge shelf of JAX aging solution. You can purchase JAX here.

Normally I age my brass with out using any chemicals but I have been curious about JAX for a while now. I decided to pick up a bottle of brown and green and head out. I finally was able to use it this weekend and I have not yet decided how much I like it.

I used the green on a brass dragonfly I had. It says on the bottle that you can dip the metal or you can use a brush and paint it on. I am going to have to give the paintbrush technique a try because the dipping thing wasn't for me. Basically it formed this crusty light green layer on top of a raw brass dragonfly. If you rub it, the green verdigris flakes right off. If you decide to use this for your verdigris patinas I would definitely recommend spraying it with some type of sealer. I use a matte clear acrylic. It changed the color of the green only slightly.

The brown I was thrilled with at first. In seconds it turned my raw brass that was bright gold to a rich brown but if left in even a millisecond too long it turns black. That's fine if you don't mind rinsing the extra black sludge off but I happened to be aging thousands of pronged rhinestone findings. So now I have to meticulously clean each and every setting and I now have perforated fingers. I only cleaned about 1/10 of the findings I aged. I decided to also age some of my raw brass connectors. Those came out nicely. I let them turn black, rinsed them off really well, dried them with a paper towel and then took some really fine steel wool found at my local Ace Hardware and rubbed the surface. It brought out the high lights nicely. I use 000 steel wool otherwise the wool scratched the surface. I would still recommend using a sealer.

I know the last thing I need is a customer returning something because the patina rubbed off on their clothes/skin. I do now see why aged brass settings & findings cost more then the raw brass most of the time. I think it's almost worth paying the extra to avoid aging things myself. But what can I say? You live and you learn.

Not to mention the settings I have I had a hard enough time finding at all in raw brass. I don't think I can even find them in aged. They're genuine vintage. Oh and one more tip. Make sure you clean off the raw brass in either vinegar or a sea salt and water solution. If you don't ever finger print and all marks from the oil in the skin of your hands will prevent the JAX from doing it's job in that area and you'll end up with bright gold in some spots. Not so pretty.

Mmm

2009-04-08T22:41:00.002-04:00

Dad made his famous Italian meatballs and cheese shells. I am so full I had to crawl back into my apt (kidding). And then my sister made homemade ice cream cake. Ugh.

I am falling asleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day before a trip into the city on Friday. Will be working on more orders tomorrow night. Thanks for everyone's patiance.

I think I am going to extend the BOGO sale.

Pre-Birthday Party

2009-04-07T22:59:00.003-04:00

And you're invited. Don't forget about my sale! It ends tomorrow at midnight. You want free earrings don't you?

Full of yumm-o cheese cake factory tonight. Seth took me there for my pre-birthday birthday dinner because tomorrow we are eating with my parents. It was so delish. I highly reccommend eating there if you have one by you.

Just wanted to pop in and remind everyone about the sale. I'm off to fill some orders because tomorrow is the birthday.

Another BOGO!!

2009-04-06T20:07:00.006-04:00

Wed is my birthday. So to celebrate I have decided to gift all of YOU!

From now until further notice I am offering a BOGO sale - Buy 2 get 1 FREE of my new DOLCE earrings. Just put "BLOG" in the notes to seller on check out and I will refund a pair of the earrings.

You will be refunded for the 3rd pair which is the ones of equal or lesser value. Only the DOLCE earrings are included in this sale. It does not include any other items!

If you have any questions you can email me or send me on convo on etsy. Or better yet, leave a comment right here!

*shown to the right are the dark peridot DOLCE earrings.

Spring Blog Redecoration

2009-04-06T18:29:00.004-04:00

Last night in the etsy forums I offered to add a few people's ads just to promote them. You can read the thread here. I plan on cracking down and putting a little more effort in my blog. So if you follow, you will see some more changes in the near future. Right now I am trying to figure out how to add another side bar to my blog so I can put the ads there.

If you know how to do that, please post below. My HTML is a little rusty and I am too tired to read through the codes and mess around until I figure out how to do it. I am waiting for my friend Pheonix to tell me because I commented her!

Quantity or quality...which is it?

2009-04-05T20:54:00.002-04:00

When I first started promoting my business I thought that if I got my name out there on all of the free sites that would be best. I don't agree any more. I have decided to pick my favorite 3 or 4 sites and drop the rest. Sites I have joined over the past few years...

etsy
myspace
facebook
twitter
photobucket
mintd
flickr
indiepublic
blogspot

Since I work full time aside from my jewelry business I have decided to streamline. I am dropping facebook (already deleted), photobucket (already deleted), mintd & indiepublic. I will stay with the rest and try and update so I have something worth following.

That being said I took some picture of my jewels now that they are organized. I got these awesome tackle boxes at Walmart. They're the biggest ones I have seen yet. They have 32 separate cubbies in each. I was able to separate my octagons, pears & ovals into their own containers. It's so easy now to see what I am getting low on instead of digging through vintage crumbling papers.

Today I spent too much time lounging & watching CSI Miami. So it's back to work. Catch ya later!

Weekend's Here

2009-04-04T00:09:00.003-04:00

Well thank goodness the office work week is over. Today was a rainy day that I hope (crossing fingers) leads to a beautiful weekend. A little warm weather would be so nice. Friday night was a good night.

We have a tradition; my husband, sister-in-law, nephew and I. They drive out to our house every Friday and then they sleep over. It's nice. Tonight we decided to go out. He wanted to see that new Pixar movie Aliens and Monsters. Ok. I'll be honest...my husband wanted to see it just as badly. It turned out to be a really cute movie. The graphics were amazing and there were quite a few laughs through out the whole thing. If you have kids (or husbands) I highly recommend it.

As far as the Heatherly Designs side of things I am very excitedly awaiting a hefty shipment of more gorgeous vintage jewels and findings. YAY! So you will see new designs consistently flooding my shop.

I would just like to go out with a reminder that I am always glad to do custom work :)

Blustery Day

2009-04-01T19:22:00.004-04:00

The last few days gave us a taste of Spring and then today was cold, windy and rainy. I really thought it was here and boy was I ever ready for flip flops and pedicures...and pretty anklets! Over the next few weeks I am preparing to pump out a few new ankle bracelets. I found some great beads and charms to mix with some older ones I have to come out with some great new designs. I have consistantly been selling my "Amour" anklet so I figure adding more to the shop could only interest more people.

Keep checking back for new designs on anklets and I have been peppering in new vintage jewel earrings each night after work. I have a bunch of them made in a selection of colors in the pear shape but I have not had a chance to take picture yet. I hope to get that all done this weekend.

BOGO Sale

2009-03-31T19:32:00.008-04:00

Just a sweet thank you present to all my blog readers. Starting today, right this moment until Sunday April 5th 12:00am, I am offering a buy 1 get 1 half off sale. Mother's day is coming up so why not buy something for mom and get a little something for you?

All you need to do is choose what 2 items you want and check out with them in the shop. When you get to the 'notes to seller' box in your check out process put in this code --> BOGO040509.

Limit of 1 half off item per customer. Please wait to pay. I will send a revised invoice to you for your new total. Only paypal and credit card payment accepted. No checks or money orders please. Regular terms and conditions apply. Please read my shop policies here for details. If you have any questions please send me a message in etsy. If you don't have etsy you can post a comment here or send an email to: heatherly_designs@yahoo.com. Mademoiselle Parfait shop items can be combined. Just tell me which item you want in the notes to seller and a revised invoice will be sent. Both items must be sent to the same address. If you want one item sent to another address additional shipping will be charged.

Vintage Jewels Ahoy!

2009-03-29T20:59:00.006-04:00

My mom, genius that she is, has discovered a lottery of vintage glass jewels. Some of these are so rare and beautiful that I was willing to pay quite a hefty sum for them. I am so excited to begin making jewelry out them. Our 2nd order just got here and I pumped out a few dozen pairs of earrings this weekend.

I have only begun listing them in the shop. I have 3 pairs listed right now out of the new batch and they're so pretty. As nice as the solid colors are I have to say that my absolute favorites are the ones that are a gorgeous vitrail. I think I will need to skim a few off of the top for my personal use. So anyhow, I have every color gemstone you could ever hope for. Some are imitation stones that are emerald, ruby, sapphire, etc. and some are just downright gorgeous shades you've never seen before.

I will be listing them as fast as I can in the shop. However if you check them out and decide that you like them but you don't see the color you are looking for let me know because I love creating customer listings for my customers. I found some stones that are crystal clear with the silver foiled back and was thinking how absolutely perfect they would be for bridal jewelry, or even the colored ones for the bridal party...maybe to match the dresses or as the thank you gift that you give. A stone to match their birthstone maybe? If you're a jewelry designer & you're looking to make your own earrings you can check out my mom's supply shop. She has the jewels and prong settings to go with them. So many ideas are floating around in my head, I just hope I can get to sleep tonight!

Fun @ the Office

2009-03-26T22:22:00.003-04:00

So Tuesday I got in to work a little late because I went with Seth to get his blood work done. I get to the office and after being in for about an hour we're all sitting at our desks and we here a loud crash and a POP! sound. It sounded like a 600 lb man was on the roof and came crashing through.

Someone came walking in and said a guy hit the fire hydrant next to our building. Someone called the fire department because water was flowing out. A few minutes later we hear the fire truck coming and just assume it's been taken care of. Well they were having trouble finding the main shut-off valve. So as they search the water is flowing out of the hydrant and into our front parking lot which is filling up with water pretty fast. Our building is on a slight incline with the lowest parts being the back parking lot. With in 5 minutes the front parking lot has about a foot of water in it and it is still flowing out at a rapid rate. I come out of the bathroom and am informed I need to move my car. My car was at the highest point of the parking lot however it was 1 parking spot away from the hydrant and our front parking lot is pushing on 2 feet of water now. I knew I wore capris for a reason that day.

So just as I am about to get in my car and move it the owner of the company pulls up in his jeep and tells me not to move my car. I know if I don't act fast the water level is going to rise up higher than the bottom of the door and I am going to be replacing carpeting...my car isn't even 2 years old and it's not even half paid off yet. I do not want to be replacing carpet. As I am arguing the water guy with big boots grabs my keys and jumps in. I see him put my car in reverse and I notice that the parking lot has shifted under the weight of my car. A few minutes after he pulls out the spot where my car is has completely collapsed in. There is a 12 foot hole in the ground the size of 3 cars in my parking space.

I had to move my car and park down the street because the water guy moved my car into the back parking lot which was rapidly filling with water. I jumped over the wave and into my car as the water rounded the corner to fill up the back parking lot.

I practically had to swim to the door though because all sides of the building were flooded. I am just glad they found the shut-off before the building flooded...we were about 6 inches away. Oh and it was a hit and run. I still haven't decided if the guy was smart because he got away with it for dumb because someone may have surveillance.

Thought I'd share.

New Treats

2009-03-18T22:19:00.002-04:00

I have been so busy lately. With my mom now selling supplies on etsy we are a good team. Constantly seeking out new places for new supplies. It's been great. I have found so many new goodies that I have only just begun creating with. It's taken me all winter but I have created hundreds of new designs half of which I have gotten pictures of. I have begun to list them in the shop and if you click here it will show you just the new items. So keep your eyes peeled because new designs are being added to the shop daily.

If money if tight don't worry, you can check out the sale section of the shop where I am retiring old designs and you can save up to 75% off the original price.

I have also officially launched my new etsy shop just for young girls jewelry. The name of the shop is Mademoiselle Parfait and right now there are only 14 items in it but I plan to be adding a lot more in the weeks to come. I have about 20 more items that I have taken pictures of and I am just trying to find time to add.

Winner!

2009-02-16T09:33:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Susan Morris who had lotto ticket# 312600. She has claimed her price via etsy conversation.

Yay Susan!

Organizing is FUN...

2009-02-16T00:04:00.010-05:00

So the other day I had had it with my work area. I have been buying way too many supplies (kidding, you can never have too many), so I am running out of places to put everything. I decided I can think of better, more efficient ways to spend my time other then cutting a strand of beads, having no where to put the loose extras & having to restrung them on the hank and tie a knot. Yeah, talk about huge time wasters.

So I went with my mom and bought $75 worth of tackle boxes and other (0verpriced) organizers. I had quite a collection to begin with but there was just no empty space. And now my work space is so organized. I'll get used to it. It's so great to just sit down now and make a piece I have envisioned and not have to keep getting up reaching in this box or that bag. I can find (& reach) it all!

But here's the best part. While I was organizing I started make 3 piles of supplies aside from the ones I was putting away. 1. Return to the retail store because I buy wholesale now. 2. destash items 3. kiddie beads & charms to sell. And that's when I had the epiphany. I really like making kids jewelry too but I feel like my shop is too streamlined to sell young girls jewelry. So I decided to concentrate on making jewelry for young girls out of the charms and beads I found and I am very excited. I have decided to call it Mademoiselle Parfait - Heatherly Designs for Little Ladies & you can visit the shop here.

I only have created the shop on etsy. I am still working on the jewelry but I hope to have it up and running by mid-March. I hope it does well and I am excited to make some cutesy little chica jewelry.

Valentines Day Necklace Winner

2009-02-14T11:23:00.004-05:00

Well it's Valentines Day which means the winner of the free Juicy Luxe neck la ce is to be announced. I put all the lotto numbers on slips of paper and had my nephew pick a slip of paper. The winnder is....drum roll please...ticket # 312600!

So if you have the ticket with that number on it you have until Tuesday Feb. 17th to claim your necklace. Simple leave a comment below and with your etsy username, email address & the color necklace you would like & I will contact you for your address.

Spring Is In The Air

2009-02-10T19:22:00.006-05:00

Well maybe not but it has felt that way the last couple of days here at the Heatherly studio. Honestly I know I am getting a little ahead of myself since that little good for nothing furry rodent saw it's shadow & declared more winter.

But I have been working on loads of new goodies for the impending spring. I found this amazing shop in Manhattan that sells all kinds of amazing quality vintage flowers. I turned them into lapel pins and you can view them here before they're even available in the shop.

I think am partial to the purple flower. It's made from a soft molded suade. And it's cute as a button. It was heat molded (not sure if that's a real expression) but I did get to see the vintage tool they use in the shop. They're these primative irons made of cast iron and they get heated in the fire. They lay the fabric over the iron and then lay the top on and press and that's how they come to create the petals and leaves. It's a very interesting process.

The brown one is made from genuine leather and is pretty detailed. It's much softer and casual looking. I can picture the purple flower pinned to the collar of a pretty vintage tweed jacket all ready for Easter Sunday.

Honestly I am interested in some feedback about the vintage fabric flowers because I think I am going to add a whole line of them to my shop. I also found some amazing milinary flowers that I turned into a necklace. I hope to take a picture this weekend and add it to the shop. The necklace I made consists of creams and beiges and would look great on a bride on her wedding day.

So let me know if you would be interested in seeing more of these amazing vintage finds.

Sigh Of Relief

2009-02-02T23:29:00.004-05:00

I just finished catching up on orders and let me tell you...that is one of the best feelings in all the world. There is only one thing that is more exciting then making sales and that's checking my feedback. It's a little bit of an addiction. I think that made to order is so much more personal than making a while bunch of something and when it sells, you ship it.

The only thing that is a little bit of a buzz kill is when you just shipped out a ton of orders and you know they are all arriving and the customers choose not to leave feedback. I love hearing what people have to say.

It's kind of like watching a really great movie and then it's over. You're dying to know how the lovers lived happily ever after. You want to know what happened after the curtains closed. I relate feedback to that same curiosity.

It's Over Now

2009-01-31T00:41:00.002-05:00

This was a very long and emotionally draining week. I accompanied a close family member to a custody hearing on Wed and I think it was the most tiresome/upsetting thing I ever did. Thursday I was so drained I did something I thought I would never have to do...I combined Starbucks coffee with caffeine pills so that I could get through my work day with out falling asleep at the computer. My boss kept walking by and I am sure it looked great when I was nearly nodding out. The best part is the pills worked until about 3:00 and then I crashed. At that point it felt like I had been awake and sleep deprived for a year. Fortunately...somehow I made it until 5:00.

I am so grateful that today is the weekend. My beau (Seth) & seester in law (ToniAnne) went to go to the movies tonight to see Underworld. We were so excited to see it (we're all huge fans of vampires) and we got to the theatre only to find out that it started at 9:50 not 10:30 like ToniAnne thought. So there was no way we would be able to stay awake to see the next showing that was after midnight. So we decided that since we were starving we would get Friendly's and let me tell you, ice cream DOES make the meal.

That was the most eventful thing I have done in a while. Sometimes I feel like life consists of cleaning, cooking, shopping (not the fun kind), laundry & the office. It's nice to get out. Jewelry is one release but getting to see a movie or go out to eat is always nice. Thanks to my little sister, Beth for watching my nephew so that we could go out.

Win A Necklace, V-Day Lotto Drawing

2009-01-29T20:22:00.008-05:00

So the big "Hallmark" day is right around the bend. I'm talking of course about St. Valentines Day. I will be giving out Heatherly Designs 'lotto' tickets with every order from now until February 14th. Each 'lotto' ticket will have a unique code.

The drawing will be on Feb. 14th. I will announce the randomly selected winning code right here. So make sure to check back often. If you have made a purchase and have the selected code you will win one of my JUICY LUXE necklaces in the color of your choice.

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T20:58:00.004-05:00

My resolution this year is to:

A. start planning my wedding (finally)
B. get healthier
C. be more on top of adding the new items I create to my shop
D. STOP HOARDING!

I hope you all had a very happy new year. I just got back from yet another buying trip to Manhattan. I still haven't gotten caught up with the one from over the summer. I have the box filled to the brim with all the goodies I bought and I think I used maybe one thing. I also can't stop buying supplies from off etsy either.

So this trip I found these amazing fish charms. They're made in a small factory in China (right outside of Bejing) and they're hand painted Cloisonne. But here is the best part, they move! That's right, they wiggle like real little fish. They are in a bunch of different sections that are all connected by these intertwined loops at the bottom so they wiggle. Coolest thing ever!
So you can expect to see a bunch of awesome necklaces featuring some of these awesome charms. I bought them in a bunch of cool colors and I can't wait to use them.
I also found these shop that is nothing less then amazing. It has everything from vintage velvet & silk flowers and leaves to ribbon, trims, filigree, beads & buttons. My mom & I spent a good 2 hours going through boxes of vintage velvet flowers which I bought a few of. They were a little pricey but I can't wait to use them in some of my designs.
I also think I am going to incorporate some headpins into my shop featuring these great vintage flowers. I took some pictures of this place with the camera on my blackjack but I don't have a usb cord to load them. When I go back in the summer I am going to blog about this place. It's amazing to say the least.

Over

2008-12-26T14:41:00.002-05:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone and now it's time to reflect on the year as it's coming to an end and to make plans for the new year to come. I hope everyone has a pleasent Christmas & Hanukah. This year it didn't really feel like Christmas, again. I felt the same way last year. I wonder what it is about the holiday season that can even get you in the "spirit" of Christmas or not.

I think I feel it less as each year goes by and I get older. I can't wait to start a family and have children to enjoy it because of them. My 2009 resolution is to start planning my wedding & to be healthier. I need to set a date and get the ball that is my life rolling.

What are your resolutions for this year?

Sigh of Releif

2008-12-17T22:27:00.003-05:00

Well it took me nearly 4 days but I am finally all caught up on my orders. I was up until 2:00 AM trying to get all my orders out last night but I just couldn't keep my eyes open any more. So the remainder will ship in the morning.

I ran out of organza drawstring bags which I love to use but I have a ton of white swirl gift boxes so I am trying to conserve money (and space) and use them up before I make a trip to my supplier for more of my little pouches.

The boxes are working for the Christmas season because a lot of male customers are purchasing right now and I know most of them aren't keen on wrapping. So at least with the way I package the orders and add the festive Christmas curling ribbon they can just give their ladies the packages as they are; no wrapping necessary.

I can't wait until all of these boxes are gone though because I am dying to buy some nice kraft paper ones. These shiney white ones don't really go with my shops style any more.

Well I hope you are all done with your Christmas shopping & can just relax now!

Elated

2008-12-15T00:35:00.004-05:00

So after nearly 2 weeks (that's 1/2 a month!) of being with out my laptop it's back and let me tell you...even typing on my keyboard feels so right. As happy as I am about having my baby back there are some sad parts. I lost a lot of stuff. I lost a ton of really great pictures (which I will not continue on about because I have already ranted about that), fonts (I can re-download, so other than being majorly time consuming, not too big a deal) & lastly I lost a TON of really great Photoshop brushes that I had downloaded and made. I can't really think about the Photoshop brushes too much because I'll get really upset. I had some really great brushes I will probably never find again.

On a positive note my computer has never been as fast as it is now. I look forward to getting caught up on orders (I already got out a ton today) and the rest will being going out tomorrow leaving my completely up to date and no loner lagging behind. Let me tell you, don't ever ruin your computer right before Christmas. I definately missed out on a ton of sales due to the lack of being able to list new things regularly. But what can you do? It's spilt milk.

PS (it was so good to have photoshop back though because I made a new banner for the shop which I have been dying to do for so long) What do you think? But seriously, try checking it out in my shop...it looks MUCH better...

Update

2008-12-08T20:27:00.002-05:00

I'm still trying to work off of someone else's computer they've been nice enough to let me use. It just sucks because I can't hook my printer up because Canon doesn't offer a driver for Vista. Anyhow, I found out that my harddrive is fried, as in nota virus but heat. It must have had a dusty build-up in front of the fan or something. It's warped and I had to order new computer parts.

So far I have invested a few hundred in the new external hard drive which is going to save my ass the next time (hopefully there isn't one) this happens. And now I had to buy a new motherboard and hard drive for my laptop.

I am just thanksful that my dad is good in all things electronics because if he wasn't able to replace the damaged parts and rebuild my little laptop I would be out shopping for a new one. I love my little HP and I miss it so much.

It is so difficult to run my business off of someone else's computer. I am just thankful that I caught that "Antivirus Pro 2009" virus, odd as it may sound, because if I hadn't I wouldn't have backed up all my spreadsheets and settings right before the big meltdown. So at least once my computer is all better and home again I should be able to re-load everything. All my Photoshop brushes and such. I miss it all so much.

So I hope to be back in the swing of things by next week. Oh, and I have to purchase a new operating system because I somehow misplaced the back-up disc I made with all my programs on it whenI first got my laptop.

Wow this is turning into the biggest nightmare. Another few hundred dollars I am not going to be able to put towards loved ones Christmas gifts this year.

So depressing...

Computer

2008-12-07T00:27:00.003-05:00

So after many hours of trying to salvage my pictures of jewelry my dad has told me it's a no go. I could really scream. I spent two entire Saturday mornings when the sunlight was perfect to take loads of pics of all the new designs.

I was totally hoping some would be able to be saved but they're lost forever. How depressing. Thank God I invested in an external hard drive...as a matter of fact it should be arriving here any day now from newegg.com. I'm pretty excited because it's 1t....so much more than any other hard drive out there. I could put my entire music and photo collection and probably only take up 1/8.

Well I may not have made the Christmas rush this year but I'll have loads of new stuff for the New Year at least (AKA the slowest time of year). Maybe it will spark some sales, hey, just trying to be optimistic here.

Slacking

2008-12-04T17:52:00.002-05:00

It's been a really really long time since I posted. Over 2 months which's a shocker because I don't feel like I was slacking feel like I had been slacking that long. Basically my laptop has been on and off. It's been "sick" and came down with this great virus that poses to be Windows itself. So it's called "Antivirus Pro 2009" and it attacks system 32 which is where all the important stuff on your computer is.

I thought I got rid of it and then I was working on my computer the other day and before you know it - it was gone. It shut itself down and wouldn't let me get on. It really sucks because I had taken some really awesome pictures of new stuff I have been dying to add to the store.

This stupid virus basically screwed up my whole Christmas game plan. So much for selling my new pretties for the holidays. It's almost too late now.

So anyhow my Thanksgiving was nice. I hope everyone elses was as well. My computer is still broken down so currently I am using my sisters. I can only use it sometimes because she uses it for her schoolwork. I hate it. Her operating system is Windows Vista which is pretty much a nightmare. It doesn't play nice with my printer. As a matter of fact I can't use my printer with it at all. I have to run around and print my packing labels from other people's computers just to get my orders out.

Just so you know, if you're thinking of buying a computer with Window's Vista...DON'T. It isn't compatible with a lot of stuff. For example my printer is a Canon Pixma and Canon doesn't have drivers for Vista on their website. So the printer right now is worthless to me.

I just keep telling myself to take deep breaths. My computer will be fixed soon...I hope.

Helping YOU help yourself (Part 1)

2008-10-02T14:22:00.003-04:00

OK so about a month ago I touched on the whole selling handmade on etsy issue. This advice isn't only for jewelry artists. I think anyone can benefit. The first question I said to ask yourself is "Is your item desirable"?

Now you're thinking to yourself of course my items are desirable else I wouldn't be trying to sell them. Nope. Wrong answer. Of course if you're passionate about what you do your items are desirable to you the question is are the desiable to other people...customers. There are a few ways to find this out. Just because you aren't selling does not mean that there is no desire for your product.

You need to do a little research. What is it about your product that is/isn't desirable? A good way to get some honest unbiased feedback is utilizing the etsy forums. Other sellers are your friends and most of them are nice and don't bite...some of them do. Post a thread in the forums under the "critiques" section. Ask people what they think and remember other sellers can be potential customers so just because they're not there to buy doesn't mean anything. They will still have some good advice for you. They'll be able to tell you if you offer a product they would be interested in.

Heatherly Designs

Jewelry Party Part Uno

Time Suck Websites

'Tis the Season & All That

Darker Days

Pumpkin Carving

Beachy-keen Weekend (& a recipe)

Functional Decorations

Buyer BEWARE!

Neglect

Edible You Say?

Tax Return Investment

Jewelry & You

Etsy Supply Shop

Supply Shopping

Deutschland

Aging Brass

That 70's Look

Procrastination is Key

Wedding Planning Bust

Be Excited

Back to Work

Ribbon

Fall Has Arrived

Giveaway

Scent Lockets

Power Tools

Melting...

Baby shower favors

It's not a hobby...

And the winner is...

Disastrous

It's that time again...time for a give-away that is!

It's a scorcher

I could really use a wish right now...

Just being 'me'

Uninspired

Hidden Talent Uncovered: Wedding Invites & More

Hidden Talent Uncovered: Hair Fascinators

Sneak Peak

They're Here!

New Sneak Peak

New Business Card Design Completed

Help!

Overwhelmed

New Year, New Posabilities

Taking a Deep Breath

Black Friday Sale

October: Come & Gone

Newbies

Fall's Coming

Little Girl's Hair Clips

Summer

Frosty Flower Ring Giveaway *ENDED*

The Next BIG Thing

Busy Sunday

New Website

You're My Sunshine After the Rain

Token of Affection Necklace Give-a-way

Busy

Lazy Sunday

Spring is for weddings

Customization, Anyone?

Matchy Matchy

Up & Coming

Garden Gate Ring Give-away

Playing Hooky

Planning ahead

Forbidden Fruit Treasury

New

Buying Trip

One more before bed...

Rhinestone Heaven

Sneak Peak

Aging Brass

Mmm

Pre-Birthday Party

Another BOGO!!

Spring Blog Redecoration

Quantity or quality...which is it?

Frosty Flower Ring Giveaway ENDED