Handmade Birthday

Ok, sorry it's been awhile. As some of you know I am having a new home built in North Carolina which should be done in June..so I've been going nutso.

Anyway, last week I celebrated my 38th birthday and luckily the hubby got me something I wanted. I love being able to just email my Etsy favorites to people and say here get my gift from here.





My husband got me this beautiful lampwork Teapot necklace from Helen's Harvest. I've been coveting her work for awhile. She just makes the most beautiful lampwork jewelry. Take a look at her shop and peruse the floral pieces. Absolutely gorgeous. I love my Teapot..it's black, which is like my color and the pink roses make it more cute. I can't remember what this piece cost but I think it was around $35. Her prices range from $27 on the low end to $197 depending on the piece.















My boss was another "what do you want for your birthday cause I don't know" person, so I also passed my Etsy favorites on to her. She got me this gorgeous Silver Wreath necklace from Erin Elizabeth. I just love the Garnet surrounded by the simplicity of the setting. I've bought from Erin Elizabeth myself and she does not disappoint in her service and her work. I think this necklace cost around $30 or so. Erin Elizabeth's prices range from $17 to $250 with many inbetween. There's something for everyone price wise here.

Now this last one I did not get for my birthday, I won it in a treasure hunt type contest. But, it's cute no matter what you say. It's this crocheted flower bookmark from Joyous Treasures. It's made to look like a Primrose bloom and when you shut your book, you've got this little flower growing from your book, it's really unique. She's got rosebuds, full roses, daffodils (that one is really neat and I featured it on Rare Bird Finds the other day) and a ton more. Very reasonable prices too. My primrose bookmark will run you $7. Prices range from $3.75 to $15 for the bookmarks. Very unique and way better than a paper one or doggy earring the page.

So, a good birthday and even better were the gifts. I can honestly say I got what I wanted for my birthday.

WELCOME WELCOME

Good evening everyone! I hope you've had a nice Veteran's Day holiday....I wish I had but that's a story for another day (it involves a 3 year old)

Anyway...I just wanted to welcome some new advertisers to Products. I traded with them for some wonderful jewelry and I just wanted to tell the world :-)

Amy Peters' Studio has some wonderful Sterling Silver jewelry with cute and inspirational sayings. I really like her "Dainty Disks" which have a cute raised design on the front and a simple one word phrase on the back. I have both the "Shine" necklace with the sun on the front side and I also got the "Soar" necklace which has a shooting star on the front..as you can see from the photos.

Amy was also kind enough to donate $100 worth of her jewelry to my PTO's Bingo Night...I showed some people the "prizes" and there was some serious Bingo playing that night :-) For Bingo, I got another "Shine" necklace and this matte choker with the two charms. It came with the cute little winged heart and the charm with the "Let Your Heart Soar" message.

The "dainty disks" start at $45 (depending on the chain length you want) and the "Matte Chokers" start at $50 (again depending on the chain length). There are many other styles at Amy Peters' Studio including her "Fortune Cookie" necklaces and her "Message in a Bottle" necklaces (as seen here). They start at $100.

I want to also welcome Weekend Jewelry! Now, if you're an old timer here at Products, then you may have read a post of mine a long long long time ago in which I coveted some pieces from Weekend...well..I now own my coveted piece :-) And, here it is..the Gold Necklace with Purple Mother of Pearl and Blue Pearls! I love love love this necklace..it just is so unique. I can wear it either casually with a sweater and jeans or it could be worn for a fancy evening (but with two kids..those are hard to come by as you know lol). This is a $66 necklace and you can also find coordinating earrings and a bracelet. So you can have a complete set if you so desire. The other necklace that I was deciding between is this Lilac Chalcedony Flower necklace with the green periodot leaves/stem dangling down. This pretty will run you $64.

Some of you may remember last November, Jen Lownie of Weekend Jewelry, made me some special earrings for that Bingo Night. Jen designed them around our school logo and they were quite popular (it got a bit aggressive that night) with some of the moms.

So, please help me welcome these two wonderful stores into the Products of the Day Family. I can honestly say that their jewelry is made with care and the pieces are of high quality..somethin you know I look for in anything I buy. Christmas is coming and I'm sure someone in your familu would love something unique.

More Love Shopping

I told you I'd find more. .....



At A Pretty Rock, orders $40+ will receive this pair of earrings free. That way you can buy something for yourself and get a Valentine's Gift for someone else.





More Etsy finds. Check out these Valentine's soapsicles. Scented Rose, Vanilla and Chocolate..with real cocoa in that bottom layer. These are at Love Lee Soaps on Etsy for $5 per bar.





How about this Sparrows Heart Necklace at Salt Run Designs? That bright red crystal just screams out from all that dark brass. I think it's really cool and hope my husband will start actually reading my blog so he knows some things he could get. $34 and there's some other heart themed jewelry as well.





Accessory Bug has some new metallic bags for the lady in your life or if you are a lady, for you. Get 10% off with the code "POSTXMAS" and it's good thru March 1st.






Mi-Spa has a special new scent for Valentine's Day into the Spring called Ume. Seen here is a gift set for $39.50 that includes UME and heart shaped scrub "bon bons".






For the little girl in your life, Ribbon Rock Star has these adorable V-day hair bows. And, you get free shipping on any V-Day hair bow purchased. Prices range from $2.85 to $7.50. This cute Ladybug one is $5.



And one more Anti-Valentines day item, these "Boys are Yucky" buttons from Buttonhead on Etsy. Sorry, these are too funny and I love them. Only $1.50 for a button.



Need unique Valentine's Day cards? Try The Donut Lounge. These are very different from the cards you'll find at Target. I like the Falling For You card with the apple falling off the tree. Prices range from $2.50 to $3.25.

How about jewelry at 50% off? Roxi Designs is having a 50% off sale on the entire site (there are a couple exceptions which are listed on the site) until Feb. 29th. This bracelet is one of my favorites from her site, it may look familiar as I had posted about this bracelet before.

Jewels By Jessica: From Vintage Comes Cool Jewels

I came across a new jewelry etailer through The Switchboards called Jewels by Jessica, and this stuff is really unique. Jessica, who is from Greece, takes Vintage items and turns them into jewelry box treasures. She uses such items as Vintage beads, plastic flowers, cameos, filigree and more. Each piece just looks so unique and cool. I've seen Vintage stuff before but this is chic and funky at the same time.

Take this bracelet..please before I buy it! She uses these Vintage plastic flowers and set them on a bronze bracelet. It's so bright and lighthearted and only $25.

These earrings play a bit more on the feminine side. You've got Vintage glass beads combined with these Vintage Celluloid flower clusters. And, you can even choose between pink or these turqoise beads. These run for $28.

Then there's her necklaces and pendants. I'm kind of a sucker for Cameos, probably because I don't own one. I always seem to want what I don't have....typical. She uses this Resin cameo with Vintage filligree and glass beads. Now, I don't want Flamingos on my lawn but I would not mind in the least having these Flamingos around my neck. This one costs $38.

The necklaces and pendants run from $18 on up to $68 depending on the Vintage items used. Bracelets from about $25 to $48. There are also earrings and rings as well as pins on her site.

Very unique and fascinating pieces. You'll find the feminine to the funky at Jewels by Jessica.

Inside Indie: Ophelia's Jewels

This week's Inside Indie interview is with Sabrina of Ophelia's Jewels. As you may have seen in recent posts, I love Sabrina's work..bought something as a gift for my mother in law and ended up buying myself a necklace as well. I love her designs and I hope you do too.

Tell me a little bit about the mind behind Ophelia's Jewels and how did you create the name?

I’ve always loved the arts, especially drawing and dancing. I started making jewelry about five years ago, and it’s been a really great creative outlet and de-stresser during college and graduate school. People had been suggesting that I sell my jewelry, so I finally started! Etsy has been the perfect forum for me because I can set my own prices without having it marked up to full retail price, but still make it worth my time. Jewelry prices are often enormously inflated, which is something that always bothered me. Everyone should be able to buy a pretty piece of handmade jewelry without being rich!As for the name...Ophelia has been my computer nickname for as long as I’ve been using computers. I was always intrigued by the character of Ophelia in Hamlet...to me she invokes a sense of mystery, love, ambiguity, and especially passion. It just seemed natural to use it for my new business!

What inspires you when you create your jewelry?

Before I started selling jewelry, I used to just make things for my friends and family. I loved experimenting, seeing what worked and what didn’t, and at the same time trying to make something that fit the personality of the person I was making it for. Mostly now I just experiment and make everything from whimsical and feminine to (occasionally) bold and chunky. Sometimes a particular color, shape, or stone combination just “works”, and then I get really excited! It’s also fun to work with a theme...one that I’ve been doing on and off is the ocean and sea life. I’ll have an image of something “typical” that you might see within that theme, such as an ocean wave or a half-buried seashell, and try to make it stand out in a piece of jewelry. It’s the idea of taking something that is ordinary and everyday and making it beautiful.

What's your favorite piece that you've made and why?

Hmm, that’s a hard question...I don’t think I have one particular favorite. But I love making things with labradorite, which is a stone that looks kind of boring and gray until you turn it just the right way. Then there are sudden flashes of bright blue and green and gold. It adds so much depth to the stone and is just beautiful to look at and work with.

Tell me about the very first piece of jewelry you made.

The first piece I made was a very simple bracelet using basic wire-wrapping with Czech glass beads. I was visiting a friend in LA about five years ago, and she had to run an errand for a few hours. To keep me busy while she was away, she taught me how to do a wire-wrap that I could use to make the bracelet. I was done by the time she came back, and it’s been love ever since!

What does the future hold for Ophelia's Jewels?

I’m pretty new to selling jewelry, so right now I’m still feeling out the business. But it’s been a lot of fun and a great way (or excuse? :-) ) to buy new beads and play with them, and I’ve already had the opportunity to interact with a lot of great people. So I hope I can continue to do this for a long time -- either on Etsy or (if I have the time and enough business) on my own website.

What is your can't live without product?

Another hard question! I would say either my tool set (everyone is always amazed at my array of strange-looking jewelry tools) or Swarovski crystals, which are always gorgeous, versatile, and incredibly photogenic!

And, Sabrina is a student so help her pay for school ok. I'm sure if you take a look around her Etsy shop you will find something you will like. I found two things..trust me if I could steal back that necklace I bought for my MIL I would in a heartbeat lol. Go ahead and take a look at Opehlia's Jewels...You know you wanna!

There's Still Time to Get Something Nice for Mom

I thought since Mother's Day is next Sunday the 13th and I'm sure there are way too many procrastinators out there, that I would give you all a little shopping guide. I have asked and searched for anyone having Mother's Day specials..most have told me that if you want to get your gift to Mom in time then you MUST order NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY!! So get up off your duff and check out these wonderful Indie sites and their Mother's Day specials!

Funky Utopia is having a Mother's Day Sale. They have all kinds of goodies for Mom from Aprons to earrings and all the stuff inbetween. Nicole offers 3 shipping options so choose wisely and order no later than Wednesday or Thursday (if you ship overnight). Here's the link that will take you directly to the sale page:

http://www.funkyutopia.com/sale.html

A Planet 4 Creation is giving away 3 free gifts to the first 10 orders placed in May. As of this morning there were only 8 orders left so get going fast if you want some cute freebies! This really nice "Mom" necklace is only $45 and is made with Sterling Silver and Swarovski crystals in your choice of birthstones.
Here's a link to APAC's Mother's Day Gift Guide:

http://www.aplanet4creation.com/mothers-day-c-28.html

The latest you can order with USPS Priority Mail to get it there by Saturday is this Wednesday.

If you'd really like to spoil mom why don't you take a look at the jewelry at Wishgiving.com. She's got some really nice pieces and some are on sale for up to 50% off. Plus they're also offering Free Shipping, which is always nice, until Sunday the 13th. Again get your order in by Wednesday at the latest. Here is the link the Wishgiving.com's Gift Guide for Mother's Day:

http://wishgiving.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=123_124

Or, perhaps your Mom loves tea, like me! SBS Teas has a really nice gift basket just for Mother's Day and it's only $19.95. Right now there are only 18 left so I suggest you order them asap if this is what you know your mom would want.

http://www.sbsteas.com/Mother-s-Day-Basket-pr-1848.html

If Bath and Body is more your Mom's style then I can direct you to many!
One of my favorite Indie Etailers, Aloha Coconut, is offering Free Shipping on your first order. But, you have to email Jennifer at: service@alohacoconut.com
with your order and she'll send you an invoice. You can put together a nice gift set with many of the things at Aloha Coconut. I highly recommend the Monoi de Tahiti oil and the Body Wash!! They even have "Coconut Soap" that looks just like a piece of coconut! This Free Shipping offer is only good thru Saturday but you want to place your order really really soon if you want it to get to Mom in time. http://www.alohacoconut.com

Maybe you might want to get something for the little one in Mom's life. Emily Allyn is having a Mother's Day Sale on t-shirts and onsies for Mom's little love bug. Spend $40 or more and you get free pants for them too. Wednesday is the cut off day for shipping so visit http://emilyallyn.com

That's all I have for now..but, if I find anymore deals..I'll edit my post!!

From A to "Z", New Jewelry Designs from Z Creations

As I continue this journey of online shopping, I am continuously amazed at these jewelry "artists". I'm not going to call them "designers" because in my view they are designers they are artists!

I used to find myself going ohh and ahh over the stuff at Kay Jewelry or even at JC Penneys. Now I'm bored when I look at the weekly ads and the jewelry the big stores sell. There's just no pizzazz. It all looks dull and boring to me after I've been perusing all these handcrafted jewelry sites.

The latest jewelry site I found is Z Creations. The site is really new so I'm assuming there's going to be alot more designs and pieces soon (there's alot of images coming soon, so that's why I say that). As soon as the page loaded up, I found my favorite piece...

...this beautiful necklace made of lampwork beads and Swarovski Crystals. Yes, all that is Swarovski crystals in this wonderful topaz color accented with the turquoise crystals and the lampwork beads. The rest is made with Sterling Silver. This piece sells on the site for $165. I know it seems high, but it's all Swarovski crystals. The design is so simple yet oozes with elegance.

And, thankfully, she has matching earrings to go with this work of art. The earrings sell for $40 and you can get them as you see them here or with clips for those without pierced ears. Nice to have the option (I have pierced myself but it's good to have options!). Here you get a better view of those fabulous Lampwork beads. They all go so well

together.

One of the other pieces I fell in love with (if only my husband would read my blog, sigh) is this piece made with Freshwater Pearls and Swarovski crystals. The pearls have a tinge of purple to them and for some reason it provides a stunning contrast to the blue and copper colored crystals. This piece sells for $155.

Valerie, the artist behind Z Creations, was also featured in a magazine article in Direct Magazine. Here's a link to it so you can learn a little bit more about the artist behind these beautiful pieces.
http://directmag.com/directtips/marketing_jewelry_online/

Once again, there are so many wonderful and talented artists out there, all you have to do is look. You'll find jewelry designs you will never find at the mall. Get yourself some art to wear!

Cupcakes:The Good, The Bad and the Just Too Cute

I have been eyeing these "Fancy Cupcakes" at the local Whole Foods market grocery store for quite some time. These are works of art. There have been nests filled with eggs, flowers, roses, animals, fish..you name it, they've made it out of icing on top. So today I gave in and bought three: a rose for me, a fish for my kids and a pig for my husband (yes a pig for my husband lol).

While I was at my PTO meeting my husband had his and told me that it was the worst cupcake he ever had (he refused to eat his pig and ate the fish instead). I thought, how could this be possible??? These must taste good they must!!! For once, I'm going to have to agree with my husband. The icing was more butter than cream. It had an ok flavor, but it literally felt like I was biting into a stick of butter. Not the right texture you want in a good buttercream. The cake part of this cupcake was the driest, least flavorful piece of cake I have ever had! I really expected something from Whole Foods to be of much higher quality than this. And, for $2.99 per cupcake, I really expected it to taste really good. I was very very upset...but ate it anyway lol.

My first advice here: stay away from Whole Foods Fancy Cupcakes. If you have a Wegman's store near you, go there and get one of their cupcakes. I know not many of you have a Wegman's near you as it is a limited East coast chain. But, a week ago I ate lunch there (great Chinese food at Wegman's) and bought a "personal cupcake" I saw at the food bar checkout. It was a beautiful cupcake, piled high with a perfect rose. This one took the cake literally. The buttercream had the perfect light texture and sweet (but not too sweet) taste. The cake was light, fluffy and moist. It just melted in my mouth. I tried to find a photo online but couldn't. Sorry! The "personal cupcake" from Wegman's cost $2 and well worth the money.

Now for the just too cute cupcakes. I just checked my email and got a newsletter from Bonnin Designs, one of the online Indie Jewelry sites. Check out her Jewelry cupcakes:

She's got rings and earrings

She also has a yellow cupcake set as well. They are just too cute and very very creative. The rings sells for $20 and the earrings sell for $29. Since I was talking about cupcakes, I just had to add these to my post. You can find them and the yellow ones at

http://www.bonnindesigns.com

More Jewelry Sites

I wanted to add on to my earlier post on Indie Jewelry sites. I've come across a few more in the past days and wanted to share their beautiful work with you. Remember, these are all handmade. They are created from the imaginations of brilliant creators and most of these are one of a kind pieces!


Here's a really nice bracelet from Roxi Designs. It's called Sweet Inspiration and it's made with Swarovski crystals. The juxtaposition of the pinks and the green is a great combination. And, for those of us who are supporters of Breast Cancer awareness, there's pink ribbons on each large flower bead. This one sells for $18. I suggest you move fast cause this one might be mine by the end of the day. Roxi Designs also has earrings, necklaces and more. http://www.roxidesigns.com


Check out these custom Braille Pendants. These are custom made with your name and are done in Swarovski crystals. Very different, very unique! And, very reasonable, only $10. You can purchase the chain for only $2 ore. $2 donation goes to the American Federation for The Blind... so nice jewelry, nice cause!
http://julieann.etsy.com



I just discovered this site recently as she is brand new. Her website is not up all the way but I thought her designs were just so captivating. Her name is Corina and her store is Aniroc Design. These earrings are named Maui after the place where the bright pink coral that she uses here is from. The bright orangish or the coral is offset by the turquoise. These just pop out at you from the page. These cost $25 and her earrings range from $15 on up. She's got bracelets too and will have necklaces and rings..can't wait to see those. http://www.anirocdesign.com/


OMG just look at this necklace! This would be my ideal Diva necklace. If I had this on my neck with it's matching earrings and bracelet, I think people on the street would stop and bow before me. This beautiful design is by Jen of Weekend Jewelry. She has alot of intriguing pieces on her site as well as her Laquered Jewelry (I have a small charm that I got with another sites order, I think it was included with Indie coupons and such but a cute little piece). Here's a link to her site: http://www.weekend-jewelry.com/


I posted a link to Crazy Dreams Studio in my previous jewelry post. Here is one of those adorable rings called Delicious Pink Ring. She's got all kinds of unique items on her site. I think her rings are just fascinating and I'm more than likely going to get one now! I just got a wonderful surprise from Kristen at Crazy Dreams...a 15% discount at her website: http://www.crazydreamsstudio.com
Just enter the code FRIEND07 at checkout.

If I find anymore sites that have great designs I'll definitely let you all know. I don't own these pieces myself but they just jumped out at me and I wanted to let everyone know of more wonderful handmade jewelry!

Handmade Jewelry, Made to Please

I've acquired a few pieces of handmade jewelry over the past few weeks from some wonderful Indie etailers and I could not be more pleased with the designs, the workmanship and (hey let's be honest here) how they look on me. It's time for me to give credit to these wonderful women who work so hard. So bear with me as this is going to be a long post.

I was lucky enough a couple of weeks ago to be one of 3 people to take advantage of a fantastic sale at Manic Trout. I was able to get 50% off any one of Sierra's beautiful pieces. I'm from New Jersey so this Surfer Girl necklace caught my eye and I just love it (Retail value $50). Just looking at it you can see how much hard work goes into making jewelry. It's not just putting beads on a string and calling it a day. Sierra has alot of different pieces on her site including earrings, bracelets (safety pin bracelets that are really unique), necklaces, rings and she paints too! Her designs incorporate alot of bright and lively colors. I think there is something for everyone on her site so take a look at http://www.manictrout.com/!




These adorable earrings I won in a trivia contest a few weeks ago from Below 14th Designs. The design is so simple yet just so unique in its own right. I love these earrings. I'm just looking at Elisa's etsy store as I'm writing and she has some really unique designs..take a look at this necklace she has up for sale called Maui:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5131379

She creates necklaces, earrings and bracelets and you can find them on her etsy shop:

http://www.myboutique.etsy.com

or her website at:

http://www.below14thdesigns.com


The last piece that I recently acquired is a small ring from Ariana Jewelry. She contributed in the last Little Black Box sampler and that's how I got this ring.



Jennifer's also participating in the current Crafty Cube sampler and I think she's going to be in this month's Little Black Box as well. Hey, you don't often get jewelry in any of the sampler boxes so take note and you may want to keep checking those sites.
Anyway, there are many unique designs on her site including bracelets, pendants, rings and earrings. She works with alot of gemstones and wire, making some very unique flowing pieces. And, FYI she makes custom rings, you pick the stone and the wire and she makes the ring..for only $15! That is a fantastic price!
Here is a link to her shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=71423

There are many many many jewelry makers in the Indie world. You must remember that these pieces are handmade! They are not made on a machine or an assembly line. These wonderfully gifted craftswomen work hard and long on their designs and you can see it. So, the prices are not on the low end of the spectrum. Don't be discouraged by that. These are such unique works of art that no one is going to have but you. No two pieces are the same.

Here are some othere jewelry sites that I know of besides the ones I've posted about. I have not had the chance to own any of their pieces yet but I admire them greatly (like everyday I'm drooling over them). Don't forget Mother's Day is coming next month and for anyone who's interested my birthday is at the end of April (lol). Enjoy

http://wearablesculpture.com/available.php

http://www.growild.net/index.php?cPath=46

http://www.stunningdetails.com/index.html

https://www.staxx.com/default.asp

http://www.crazydreamsstudio.com/store/index.php (her rings are just adorable!)

http://www.isabelsrose.com/jewelry.html

http://www.ellejule.com/index.php

http://www.bonnindesigns.com/ (FYI: she's having a 50% sale right now thru the 15th! Many are on of a kind pieces!)