Custom Bridal Piece

This was a custom order and I love the cz beads...the bride has such great taste! I apologize for the quality of the pictures but I took them at night and didn't have great lighting.

I'll post pictures of a custom headband I'm working on next.

Accepted!

All three of you who frequent this blog (ha ha) have read about my Harry Potter obsession post-bar exam...well, I have my very own Hogwarts acceptance letter coming in the mail!

I am sooo excited. I needed a mousepad for my office so I turned to my trusted Etsy (where I've been doing a lot of shopping lately :) ) and found this...a Hogwarts acceptance letter mousepad at iheartseverus, where you can find all things Harry Potter.

You could personalize it with your name and address that you'd like. Instead of "the cupboard under the stairs" mine will say "the office that smells like candy." That's because everyone who comes into my office says it smells like candy or vanilla. It's because I use this cotton candy fragrance oil from madcitysue at etsy. Hey, I'd rather my office smell like candy than the many alternatives out there. Wouldn't you agree?

On the jewelry front. I've had so many great experiences with my customers. I recently received a message from my customer who bought a necklace for her grandmother a while back...letting me know that she still loves her necklace and was wearing it when my customer visited her recently. I was so touched that she would take the time to share that with me. That is the greatest thing about selling your handmade products directly to your customers. There is a connection there that you don't get otherwise.

At the end of this past week a woman bought my Blue Dalmatian Ring and in her message to seller she noted that the ring reminded her of a dog she had that was white with bluish spots. Her dog passed away last year :( It breaks my heart to hear about people losing their pets but am so glad that every time she looks at the ring, it'll remind her of a dog she loved very much.

I will stop there for tonight, but will be back soon. Promise.

New Pieces!

I finally sat down and made some jewelry this weekend although I haven't listed them at my Etsy store yet. Writing the descriptions and measurements, is not my favorite part of selling jewelry so I tend to procrastinate.






I am still selling here and there and have received some great feedback. I had a man in Croatia buy one of my pearly mooon necklaces for his wife. He sent me a convo to let me know that she loved it. Makes me so happy! I also had a feedback from a customer who said one word "stunning." It really doesn't get any better than that. Thank you everyone for your great feedback and your support.

Sorry for taking so long between posts but as much as the law fascinates me, I'm sure none of you want to hear about my work. I did get my lawyer business cards today and although they're not anywhere near as awesome as my Moo cards, these ones make me feel so legit, ha ha.

I hope you're all well and drop me a line if you do happen to stop by.

It's Been Too Long

I am sorry for having disappeared on you but I'm so tired after work that the last thing I wanted to do was blab on my blog.

On the work front, I love where I work and was really lucky to get the job. I love being an attorney and working here was definitely worth the long wait for a job.

On the jewelry front, things are slowing down some. I'm still making sales here and there and and get the orders out pretty quickly. But I think not lurking around Etsy has resulted in less exposure and less people visiting the shop, and that's fine. What is eating at me though, is the fact that I bought some new stones and really want to make more pieces but am just too tired. Now, I know there are Etsy sellers out there who have a full time job, kids, and a successfull Etsy shop! How, they do it is beyond me. I like my sleep...so I guess, I'll just have to deal with occassional sales here and there.

But I'm not complaining, I am so happy with my day job that getting to make jewelry for the occassional order just makes me that much happier.

Hope you are all doing well.

I'd like to say a special hello to my friend Lisa Marie, whom I know loves being an attorney. My next post will be dedicated to verbalizing why Lisa loves doing what she does.

New Kid On the Etsy Block

I'd like to introduce you to Natas...the new kid on the Etsy block. The woman behind this up and coming jewelry store is my cousin P'Kaew (Natachuta). She's smart, she's beautiful, and she has an incredible eye for color and picks the most beautiful beads and findings for her jewelry. I'm already eyeing a few things and will start shopping soon. So check out her store and keep her in mind when you want some beautiful jewelry made with authemtic Thai beads!

Why I Love Making Jewelry

There are the obvious things associated with crafting...it allows me to be creative, play with beads, use my hands, wack a hammer, and see a finished product that (I think) is beautiful.

But most of all I love making jewelry and selling it to other people because women have a special relationship with jewelry. It not only adorns you...it's the finishing touches to the woman you want to be on a particular day. And it makes me soooo happy to know that something I created makes a woman out there happy. When I get messages from buyers who say they chose my jewelry to wear on their wedding day because it is the perfect accent for their wedding dress, or because it's something they can wear again after the wedding, it makes me happy. And when I get new feedback from someone who just received their jewelry and LOVED it...there's no better feeling...eventhough I benefitted from it too :) That's why I love making jewelry.

Why do you love doing what you do?

The Experiment Is Over

Some time back I read a post in the Etsy forum that antiperspirants are packed with aluminum, which is bad for you, etc. So when my usual deodorant/anti-perspirant ran out, I searched Etsy for a natural and handmade alternative. I bought one and picked the "Monkey Fart" scent. It smells great, very fruity and tropical. I really wanted to love it but there were a couple of problems. 1. Upon application, it felt wet and slimy, and 2. Although it smells nice, it doesn't keep me from sweating. Granted I'm not a big sweater but there were definitely moments when I and my deodorant were tested (i.e. interview at the Public Defender's office) and the deodorant definitely failed. I may have failed too but I haven't heard from them yet...so for now...it was just my deodorant that failed. I am willing to sacrifice certain things to support handcrafters and to use more natural products...but smelling acceptable to society is not one of them.

I found out last week that I got a job at a law firm (yay) and my deodorant was not going to stand up to the test (boo). So it's back to my old faithful...Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Deodorant/Antiperspirant. I'll just have to live with the aluminum poisoning my body...oh well.



Please, before you yell at me for spending almost $20 on a designer deodorant, I must tell you it is THE BEST deodorant out there. It smells spectacular, keeps you dry all day, doesn't leave a white residue, and lasts FOREVER. It's embarrassing how long my last tube lasted me but just take my word for it. So there it is, my experiment with the natural deodorant is so over.

And Someone Bought Them!

I just sold the earrings I made for the beading challenge! Ha ha. I wouldn't have even listed them but part of the challenge required us to list the earrings on Etsy. And someone bought them today! I'm tickled pink.

Beading Challenge Results

So yesterday was the Beading Challenge Deadline and I can post a picture of what I came up with! Here it is:





It was really fun to see what other people came up with and how many used similar concepts although noone saw eachother's results ahead of time. Just goes to show, there are only so many ways you could make earrings.

You can check out the results here.

Now that I'm feeling better from my week of being out with the flu, I made a new necklace with a silver flower that my cousin sent me from Thailand. On the two sides are a beautiful faceted carnelian and a green glass bead. I named this one the blooming lotus necklace. It's so sweet and colorful, it's my new favorite.

Beading Challenge

I've been meaning to post about the beading challenge that I joined never got around to it. A couple of weeks ago, some etsy jewelry sellers (silverriverjewelry and designedbylucinda) posted a thread in the etsy forums asking for volunteers for a beading challenge. The challenge was to send each participant the same beads (graciously provided by santiamdesigns) and give everyone a week to finish a pair of earrings using those beads. The thought is that it would be interesting to see what different designs people come up with and how many people wind up having the same or similar designs despite never having seen eachother's work. We are to finish the earrings by March 24th and list the earrings in our etsy shop.

I got the beads last Friday and were so excited I sat down and made the earrings right away. These beads were soooooo small, a lot smaller than what I'm used to working with. Talk about a challenge! They kept falling out from between my stubby fingers and I wouldn't be able to find them! It took me FOREVER to finish the darn earrings but I really like them. I can't post the pictures of the earrings yet but here are the beads...what would you have done with them?

Forced Blog Love - I've Been Tagged!

Thanks to BeadsintheBelfry for tagging my blog and forcing me to give this lonesome blog some love. I've been sick all week (and still am) so my apologies.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Ok, 1 & 2 are done...here are the six non-important things/habits/quirks about myself.

1. I have a huge pet peeve about toilet paper rolling from underneath the roll rather than from the top. I have this uncontrollable urge to change it and often do even at other people's houses.

2. I loved reading cases in law school because of all the drama...it's like reading one huge gossip column.

3. In High School I wanted to be a dolphin trainer.

4. I had a stalker in Thailand.

5. I believe I have an extra pocket in my stomach for desert.

6. My favorite desert is Nona's poundcake at Maggiano's. Here are the elements that make it so perfect: fried pound cake, caramelized bananas, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate fudge. It's perfect.

The 6 blogs I'm tagging:

1. Fooding 411 - this girl knows her food. If you're in the SD area, you'll want to check out her food finds.

2. Kopah - I LOVE her soaps.

3. Kieutiepie - she makes all things cute (including my banner), is the nicest girl, and has the cutest dog!

4. Jared In Kansas - you know how much I love his photographs.

5. Chocolate and Steel - I love her jewelry and the stories she gives them. One of the most artistic people I've ever met.

6. RavenX aka Dirty Pretty Things - extremely talented artist who makes the best smelling and longest lasting candles.

Sex And The City!!!!

If you wanted a date with me on May 30th, I'm sorry, my calendar is marked and I'll be at the theater watching the Sex and the City movie. Thanks for sending me the trailer Nhu-Chi. I can't wait for the estrogen fest, it'll be like seeing old friends. Gosh, I miss them. When I was going to school in D.C. my friend Nitza and I used to go to this bar on Sundays to watch SATC. Everyone was there to watch the show (even the men). It was such a bonding experience. Let me know if you'd like to join me on May 30th :)

Wedding Season!!!

Spring is just around the corner and wedding season is fast approaching. Etsy has launched a wedding series and promoting it in internet ads and on Etsy itself. I am so flattered that they have included a picture of my pearly mooon necklace in their ad! I love it when I find out that an order is for a wedding and now with all this exposure, I may get more wedding orders and I couldn't be happier. You can read all about the wedding serires and the ads in this article:

Here are some beautiful pictures from the article, which happens to include a couple of my pieces as well :)



Etsy's wedding series comes at the perfect time for me personally as well since I am FINALLY moving on the wedding planning. Etsy will be a great resource for me to include as many handmade elements as I can into the wedding. Etsy introduced me to this website called Style Me Pretty with all things wedding related and I really want to create an inspiration board with the color scheme and elements that I like. This'll be fun.

I've been Scouted

No...not as the next big Asian pop star...but as a maker of "dangerously pretty" jewelry on Scoutie Girl!!! That's so much better than being a superstar. Jan picks such great artists to feature and I'm truly honored, thank you so much. You have to check out Scoutie Girl and Jan's fun fabrics and bags at Daisy Janie...if only I knew how to sew I'd so buy her fabrics.

Rock Show

That's the name of an Etsy treasury created by fisheye who sells accessories made from recycled materials. The treasury's built around a rock theme and a black and gray color scheme. It's edgy and fun and features my lava rock earrings! Check the treasury out here.