Featured in an Etsy Treasury!

I'm pretty excited- one of my pendants was featured in an Etsy Treasury selection! ArtandAngelsbyRose selected (or her cat, rather :) ) my Starfish Love Pendant to be in her group and I'm impressed that my photography skills don't stand out like a sore thumb! Check it out here.

Have a wonderful evening! ♥

Photo Editing Tutorial

Hey everyone! I've written a photo editing tutorial and am offering it on my Etsy shop. As part of the listing, I'll also edit 5 of your photos (either sent to me via email or from your shop).

The tutorial includes fairly basic information but is very helpful in getting more shop views. The techniques it describes are written for Etsy users but can be applied to any shop or website you upload photos to.

Check it out! It's only $4.99 and contains some very valuable information. Remember, photos are the most important part of your shop since buyers can't see the items in person!

♥

Urban Dictionary: "Claire"

A friend pointed out in a Facebook note what "Claire" means according to Urban Dictionary. You'd have to know me to know how exact this description is but I wanted to share anyways.

"one who is unique, short, funny, and really clumsy. a unique independent person who knows how to have a great time, extremely funny and outgoing. she has lots of friends and is always there for them."

I pride myself on being unique, I'm 5'3, I'm not sure about funny...., I'm extremely clumsy (aka Grace when a kid), etc. Crazy accurate.

That said, check out my new Bella Bracelet photos on Etsy. They're awesome.

Scrabble-Style Tile Pendnats

I've got eight new Scrabble-style tile pendants for sale in my Etsy shop. I don't use reclaimed Scrabble tiles because I like to cut my own for more versitile sizes and styles. They're cheaper and more environmentally safe because I use construction scrap materials!

Check them out! I have several birds and owls, a really cute starfish one, and some other designs, too.

♥

New Earrings on Etsy

I've just uploaded four new pairs of earrings on Etsy. They all have cute Swarovski hearts and were inspired by various things. Visit my shop or click the links below to see the new items!

Got the Blues
Flirting with Cupid
The Mean Reds
I Believe in Pink

♥

1000 Markets

I've recently discovered the website 1000 Markets. It's a handmade craft website like Etsy and Artfire where buyers can find great items and sellers can reach people interested in their work. The main difference I see is that 1000 Markets uses Amazon Payment rather than Paypal or other methods that some sites do.

I've started my site and it's been sent to the administrators for approval but my "doors" will be open within the next 48 hours (hopefully).

Check it out here.

♥

Check this designer out!

Her work is stunning! I found Bella Tu Jewelry on Twitter and then found her designs on 1000 Market. It's all so creative! I looks to be really great quality, and from reading her Tweets, the owner seems to be a funny gal, too!

Follow her on Twitter here. Follow me on Twitter here.

Check her out! ♥

Marketing Strategies for Selling on Etsy

I've been working on my Etsy marketing skills today and I'm having fun with it! I'm already majoring in business and I'm considering concentracting on marketing. I'm thinking that I'm PERFECT for it!

I found a great seller on Etsy who sells marketing tutorials and I purchased one of her listings. I'm not telling who it is yet, though! She's considering hosting a giveaway here soon so you'll get to see then! ;)

I've been finding all sorts of new people on Twitter, IndiePublic, Facebook and every other site that I can think of. Follow me and I'll follow you!

Have a great evening and good luck marketing your works! ♥

New, new, new!

Just wanted to let everyone know that my Etsy shop is all new! I have many more items for sale now, including my new tile pendant designs, and I have 2 special sales going on.

10% off on select Twilight designs with the code "VAMP10"
10% off other items in honor or Mother's Day with the code "MOMMY10"

I've been marketing it like crazy all day so hopefully I'll get some sales soon! They've slacked off the past few days... I do have 3 new "who ♥s my shop" followers and have also set up a Facebook ad. I've blogged about it, Tweeted it, Myspace-d it, Indiepublic-ed it, etc. Basically everything I can think of!! Wish me luck!

Add an extra 5% to your disount when you purchase an item and tell me that you follow my blog! (Make sure to give me your username so I can double check!)

Have a great evening! ♥

PersnicketyHome on Simply Stacie

Stacie is just getting better and better! This time, she found Cindy at PersnicketyHome who has generously offered to give away an adorable pillow cover. Check out the blog and Cindy's work on Etsy.

Good luck in the contest! ♥

More quotes...

I found a GREAT seller on Etsy that has some wonderful quotes and I just had to share in light of my last blog.

Bunkleberrystudios has so many different types of items. My favorites are their quote pendants. I also love their motto: "Words to wear. Words to live by." I'm inspired to make some Scrabble tile necklaces with quotes now.....hehe ♥

Quotes instead of homework.

Well, dang. I just wrote this lovely, long blog and my internet decided to act up and it didn't work. Poo.

Anyways, I'm currently avoiding accounting homework for all it's worth and I decided to make another blog about jewelry that I love- I love seeing people's creativity! I decided to look on Etsy for jewelry relating to words/ quotes. Here are my five favorites.

Name Necklace- I ordered one just like this and cannot wait to get it! I'll blog about the seller when it arrives!
Edgar Allen Poe Love Quote- Poe? Not creepiness? Wow... I think this is from Annabell Lee, though I'm not certain. I like it.
Mommy Necklace- I'm not a mom and don't really want to be, but I think mommy/baby items are so cute!
Phrase Rings- Such a cute idea! I wish you could see the words when wearing them, though.
Spiral necklace- Cute design and cute quote. I love it!

And my current favorite quote: "Today I will be happier than a bird with a French fry."

Comment and add your favorite quote jewelry URLs! ♥

TwilighterVA Giveaway on Simply Stacie

Another fabulous giveaway from Simply Stacie! TwilighterVA's designs are all beautiful Twilight-inspired pieces. I LOVE her First Beach paua shell bracelet- I wish it were a ring!

Check out Simply Stacie to enter this great giveaway. Good luck to all! ♥

Sweet Surrender Candles on Simply Stacie

Wow, do I LOVE this giveaway! I sooooo want to win this one! :)

Joannie at Sweet Surrender Candles has some of the most wonderful fragrance selections available on Etsy- there are over 500 scents to choose from!

There are so many ways to win at Simply Stacie so check out her blog and enter to win 12 tea lights from Sweet Surrender Candles!

New Blog Goodies!

As you may notice, I have a new "grab my button" HTML code and custom signature from Blogger Boutique.

Ragan did such a wonderful job on my button and signature! They're so cute and she was so great to work with- she's very fast and has great communication, too.

Ragan offers three different designs for very reasonable prices but you can also purchase from her "Bits n Pieces" section like I did. Check her out and see what wonderful things she can do for you and your blog! ♥

Bella Bracelet Giveaway Ends Tonight!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to remind all of my readers that Simply Stacie's Bella Bracelet giveaway ends tonight at midnight. There are lots of ways to win, so visit her site for a last minute entry!

Check out my shop to purchase a Bella Bracelet if you aren't the lucky winner! Good luck to all! ♥

Eclectic Orchid on Etsy

I promised a review on a WONDEFUL Etsy seller in my rant on bad ones last week, so here it is!

I've purchased several items from the lovely Marcy at Eclectic Orchid on Etsy and I have been beyond please with all of her work. The jewelry items themselves are so incredibly beautiful and well-made. They are packaged beautifully- it's like Christmas when I get my package from her! Her shipping is fast and her communication is excellent, plus she's more than happy to do custom orders. Marcy is just an all-around wonderful lady!

Here's a picture of the gorgeous necklace I recently purchased:






Check out Marcy's work on Etsy and buy yourself a little something special! You're worth it and she's sure to make your day! ♥

Stacie's newest giveaway

This one is a little different from ones that she'd had recently. This time, Stacie found a wonderful photographer, Jennifer Squires, who was willing to offer and one of her 8X10 prints to one lucky winner. I LOVE her flowers and Greek scapes.

To enter the contest, visit Simply Stacie and follow the instructions there. Good luck! ♥

Doing what you ♥

I was watching the University of Alabama vs. Georgia gymnastics competition on ESPN2 today and I had a huge realization. It was about following your dreams and doing what you really love.

I have very few regrets in my life but one of my biggest was quitting gymnastics. I was a gymnast for 9 years and it was one thing that I was truly passionate about. I absolutely loved hurling myself through the air- it felt like I was flying. The power and strength that I could control were amazing. I quit gymnastics when I was in 7th grade because of school becoming increasingly difficult and also because of some "girlie issues" that happen around that age that I was embarassed by.

Now, about 8 years later, I wish more than anything that I'd stuck with it. If I could have three wishes, that would be number one on my list. I feel this ache in my heart whenever I watch those graceful, powerful girls doing what I loved so much. Had a not quit when I did, that could have been ME out there...

I've only found one other thing in my life that I love as much as I loved gymnastics and that is jewelry making. I take so much pride in it and I get that "ache"when I think about not pursuing it. That's why I decided to abandon my plans of becoming a clinical psychologist to reach my dream of having a jewelry/bead supply store. I know that it will be much harder work and that the monitary gain will be much less but it's what I DREAM about doing. The personal rewards will be so much greater than "settling" for a job, which is what I was doing with psychology.

I gave up one dream many years ago and I still regret it- I'm not going to let that happen again! ♥

Simply Stacie has another great giveaway!

Stacie has found SparkleSpunk for another great giveaway. She has generously offered a Small Bella Cullen Crest Necklace and it is so pretty! I can attest that SparkleSpunk does great work- I've purchased from her recently, too.

Check out Stacie's blog for all the info needed to enter into this great contest!

Good luck! ♥

Celebrity "Fashion Flubs"

I'm not usually one to really CARE what the celebs are wearing but sometimes I do browse "fashion flub" photos. This one really got me thinking today.

Okay, I'll admit, some are pretty hideous but others seemed perfectly fine to me.... Take Taylor Momsen for example. While, yes, her expression is pretty bad, her outfit looks to me excatly like something she'd wear on "Gossip Girl" (at least during her rebelous phase, anyway). Another one that struck me was Jessica Alba. I didn't recognize her with the big sunglasses and the dark hair but what's wrong with her outfit? Walk across a college campus any day and find 20 girls dressed just like her in 5 mintues.

Maybe it's just because I'm in the deep South and we're about three years behind the trends but sometimes I wonder "what makes THAT hideous outfit fashionable while THIS hideous outfit isn't? They BOTH look hideous to me..."

I guess I'll just stick with my classic style and ignore the "fashion" of the second. After all, Audrey Hepburn did influence many of today's trends (skinny jeans, ballet flats, etc.). ♥

Scrabble Tile Pendant Images

Lately, I've been making lots of Scrabble tile pendants. I was browsing Etsy today, looking for new image ideas, when I came across a seller who was selling a sheet of digital images to make the tiles with. By the way, they were selling like hot-cakes. 'What a great idea!', I thought. I've been working on my version ever since...

Three hours later, I have my images ready to go! I found them, cropped them, cloned them, squared them, resized them, and got them into a JPEG file (which was quite a challenge) and they are for sale! Check them out here!

I've got ideas for so many more versions so check back often to see what I've got! If you're interested in a certain theme that I don't offer, let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Birdies on ArtFire

I posted yesterday about cute bird designs on Etsy so I decided to post about those selling them on ArtFire tonight! Within about 30 seconds after searching "bird jewelry," I found some really remarkable designs that you've got to check out!

AQUA TERRA BIRDIES Wow, I adore these, too! I'm going to have more bird earrings than I know what to do with...
PERMANENT ORIGAMI PEACE CRANE EARRINGS
COLORFUL BRACELET
MARTY IN LOVE Too cute! It would make a great V-Day gift!
BIRDNEST JEWELRY SET These are super-unique!

That's all for tonight! Comment and tell me which ones you like best and share you favorite bird designs, too! ♥

Update on BlueMud Post

I told you all about how great the customer service at BlueMud is but I wanted to further praise them right now.

They replied to my message and said they'd shipped my missing item within 30 minutes of me contacting them initially. That was on Feb. 2nd. Well, today, Feb 4th, the beads were in my mail box! How great is that?!

I ♥ BlueMud

Update on Scams Post

I promised you all an update on the transactions I mentioned in the post about scams so here it is.

So far everything is going well. They have both purchased the bracelets and paid for them with Paypal. I'm going to mail them with tracking information so they can't tell me that it didn't arrive when it did, etc. I guess it was just a really weird coincidence and there wasn't anything else to it after all!

Hopefully there won't be any future problems!

So incredibly frustrated with this Etsy seller! VENT

I won't say who she is because that would be completely unprofessional (though I want to so you don't have to go through it too!) but I'm so very frustrated with a certain seller on Etsy and I really need to vent.

Let me tell you what happened. On Dec 2, 2008, I bought a pair of earrings. It was a "surprise" listing where you tell the buyer about yourself and she designs a pair of earrings to suit you. When they arrived on the 23rd, three weeks later may I add, they were very cheap and ugly. I paid $16 for them and could have made them with about $2 myself! I left neutral feedback because of the time it took to ship them and their poor quality. She contacted me and asked if I'd like an exchange so I said sure. I left positive feedback for being such an understanding seller. Big mistake.

Well, I returned the earrings to her on Dec 26 and messaged her on Jan 10th to see if she'd gotten them. She said they arrived on the 4th and they where "in line" with the other orders she'd received on Jan 4th. As of Jan 27th, I messaged her asking about the status of my order and if she had tracking info. She did not respond and I finally filed a non-delivery dispute on Feb 2nd. I also asked for a refund.

Today she responded and said that I had acted harshly and unfairly! OMG, I can't believe her! I contacted her multiple times and never got a response. I waited almost a whole month!! (BTW, did I mention that her feedback score has fallen from 100% to 97% since I purchased the earrings on Dec 2 and she has over 700 reviews? That's about 20 negatives!) Other feedback left by buyers said the same things I was experiencing- slow delivery, helpful at first then ignored messages, non-delivery and no contact, etc.

Needless to say, I'm highly disappointed with this seller. She seems too concerned with getting sales and making money to take care of her customers and, unfortunately, I fell into that 3% of unhappy buyers. She claims that she's mailed the earrings out (not that she offered WHEN she did this or tracking information) and IF they arrive, I'll have to cancel the non-delivery dispute.

It's just so very frustrating to know that people are out to make a buck and don't care how their customers get treated. Anyone who has studied business knows that a business is not out to actually MAKE MONEY but to MAKE CUSTOMERS. After all, you are nothing without your customers.

On a happier note, Friday I expect to blog about a wonderful seller! (Friday is when I'll get the necklace I ordered.) And I WILL tell you who this great lady is then!

Thanks for reading this really long rant. I feel so much better now that it's off my chest. Hopefully none of you have gone through anything so unreasonable as this situation and hopefully you never will!

Have a great day, everyone!

New to Artfire!

Okay, just a quickie for now since it's way past my bedtime! lol (BTW, the timestamp at the bottom of this is NOT right!)

I just discovered Artfire.com, a website like Etsy for selling handmade stuff. I can't believe I didn't know about it until now! I'm in the process of uploading my designs and such but I really hope to be successful there, too.

Check it out!

Goodnight everyone!

Cute Little Birdies on Etsy

Hey everyone! Hope you're all having a great day!! I decided to do a search on Etsy today to find some jewelry that I love. I thought I'd share my favorites with you!

As you know if you've been to my shop, I love little birdies. These are some of my favorite designs:

Birds under a Blue Green Sky I love these so much, I just may have to buy them! ♥
Two Shabby Chic Vintage Style Gold Metal Bird Cage Pendant - ZNE So they're not really birds but they fit with the theme and are so cute!
Hope Necklace
Sweet Little Birdie Post Earrings
Little Blue Bird 3 - A Mini Domino Necklace

Hope y'all have enjoyed looking at the adorable little birds! Share your favorite bird designs, too!

BlueMud Beads

Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a great Monday. It's raining here but I got my jewelry order from BlueMud.com today so it's all good!

I just wanted to take a minute to praise BlueMud. They're a wholesale jewelry supply site that sells mainly sterling silver and Swarovski crystals. Their products are amazing quality at even more amazing prices and their customer service is wonderful! An item got left out of my order and within 30 minutes of emailing them, I got a response saying that the missing item had been shipped out already! They're so great! ♥

So, if you're a jewelry maker like me and you're looking for a great, dependable beading source, BlueMud.com is the way to go! Check them out here.

Beware of scams!

Hello, all. Sorry I haven't posted this weekend. I was visiting my mom and her Internet has been less than reliable lately.

Just a quick post tonight and nothing too fun, but something that always needs addressing: SCAMS.

I got two messages on my Etsy shop this weekend (one Saturday and one today) from two different people both in France. Their messages were practically identical (wording, changes they wanted made, length needed, etc.) and I'm a little skeptical. The thing that set off the red flag was that they messages were so much a like.... I figure as long as they pay via Paypal and I have my money before they have the bracelet, I'm safe, right?

Let me know if anyone has dealt with anything like this before, please. Can they scam you if they pay via Paypal? I know it's really safe but I'm still not 100% sure.... I'll let y'all know if anything else with the transactions happen.

Well, that's all for tonight. I'll post again tomorrow about something more fun, I promise!